Broken Allegiances
by xTheBoyOnFire
Summary: AU. When Peeta volunteers for the Hunger Games he is immediately made aware of the true danger that the Capitol poses on his family, friends, and fellow tributes. Competing in the 89th Hunger Games, with double the amount of tributes, Peeta immediately becomes a natural leader for the beginning of a revolution. Cato/Peeta Romance; Rated M for violence, language, and sexual content.
1. Alliances

**Chapter 1: Alliances**

"Remember, this years games are going to be different. The capitol has not wasted any of its resources and expenses to make these games memorable," Haymitch retorted to Peeta's previous comment.

"It's not like I'm going to make it far in the games, Haymitch! I'll be lucky if I make it past the first day…" Peeta trailed off, suddenly aware that he had only four days before he would be sent to fight to the death.

Stammering off, Peeta went to find his district partner, Katniss Everdeen. She would surely know how to calm him down. The male and female tributes from the same districts were held in separate rooms for these games, a new rule placed by the capitol to ensure their safety. Knocking on the door to Katniss' penthouse suite, Peeta is welcomed by a warm embrace, followed by a smile with a hint of concern evident in her eyes.

"Hey! I tried to get ahold of you after the dinner tonight with the other tributes," Katniss said, _worried for sure_, Peeta thought.

"Oh, sorry…I was really tired," Peeta began before he was interrupted.

"I get it – really, I do – but Peeta, you can't avoid the games, and you heard what Haymitch said," Katniss began "Do you really think you'll survive if you don't start making allies? Some of the other tributes have already started making alliances, not to mention the careers!"

"I'm really not in the mood for a lecture, Katniss" Peeta responded, groggy from the early mornings he had had to endure as of late. Before he could turn to walk away after having no luck with Katniss either, the girl he cared so much for reached out and grabbed his wrist stopping his escape.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset…" she stated, clearly in tune to the look of strain evident on his face. "On the bright side, I was able to talk to Johanna, and she said that she was looking for allies, and I'm almost positive we can trust her!"

Attempting to make an effort, Peeta forced himself to smile. He was always impressed with Katniss' determination to make the best of any situation she found herself in. "That's great!" he started, "Anyways, Effie says we're to report to training at 9, and it'll take us a while to get there, so we better head out now."

Nodding in approval, Katniss followed the boy out of her room, quickly taking a final glance back at the room in disbelief – the capitol was surely nothing like District 12.

"Hey, Katniss, I'm sorry for being so stubborn. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. But I'll try for you, I promise." Peeta smiled at the girl he had known since he was just a little boy. _How was he ever going to be able to kill her? _Shaking himself of the thought and putting on a brave face he stepped into the elevator and watched as the floors sank around him.

**The Training Centre**

Standing outside the training centre, Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch took in the vast area before them; each column imprinted with the capitol seal, the black and grey flooring pattern, a viewing area for the gamemakers and an ever-present company of capitol officials, ready to stop any fighting between the tributes before the games began.

Peeta took in the different sections: the hand-to-hand combat station was quite simple really, with navy mats on the floor and gloves available to the left; the archery/spear/throwing-knives station, with a choice of dummies or moving targets; the weapon combat station with an endless supply of weapons and armor; and lastly at the very end were stations for camouflage, snares-assembly, fire-making, and plant and animal identification.

"Don't try to impress the other tributes as much as looking for any weaknesses they may have," Haymitch said sternly, Peeta watching as he eyed Katniss and himself, making sure they understood this strategy. "Remember, deception is as much a killer as brute force." Wishing them luck, he left Peeta and Katniss standing at the entrance, ready to get to work.

"I think we should split up and find out who we can trust first, and then meet tonight after supper to discuss our possibilities," Katniss said, nodding briefly before leaving Peeta and heading straight for the hand-to-hand combat section. _Smart move. Probably best that she avoid the archery station, _Peeta thinks to himself.

Best that Peeta begin working his social game. Walking through the entrance gateway, he catches a glimpse of a district 2 female taking her swing at swordplay. Approaching carefully, Peeta managed a "Hello, my name's Peeta, from district 12" before he was dismissed with a hiss-like sound and a mouthful of serrated teeth. Flinching, Peeta walked away quickly, acknowledging that this tribute was definitely not going to be helpful to his game.

Looking around Peeta becomes aware of a couple of tributes practicing their spear and knife-throwing, making a silent reminder to himself to stay away from that section, the words of Haymitch rambling through his memory.

Taking a peak over to the hand-to-hand combat section, Peeta sees that Katniss seems rather chatty with an unknown female tribute from district 7, taking a quick notice of her red and black hair. _The capitol must already be having an effect on these tributes_, Peeta thought. Back in most districts, hair dye was not affordable, not that Peeta wished to trade in his natural golden-locks for tacky color that would surely fade, of course.

A rough hit to his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts, and Peeta turned in time to see a tall, well-built, blonde-haired boy walking away mumbling, "You might want to start training… being the capitol-favorite won't save you in the arena."

"And what makes you think I'm the capitol-favorite, district 2?" Peeta called out sharply, noticing the boy stop in his tracks a few paces before him, turning to meet his attention.

"It's not too often a tribute from the outlying districts volunteers in someone else's place. It makes people take notice," the district 2 male stated, "As for me, the name's Cato, and you might want to learn it." Peeta became suddenly aware that the boy was getting increasingly closer to him, a little too close if you asked him. "Because when I kill you, it'll be the last name you scream when you plead for mercy." With that, the blonde turned and walked away from him.

At least it didn't seem to be just Peeta that annoyed Cato, because periodically he would notice a fight break out between him and another poor tribute, one time having been when Cato's knives went missing from his station and peacekeepers had to stop Cato from doing any harm. All Peeta really remembered was the screaming and the death threat Cato issued to the young girl, before he tuned it all out and left the training centre.

It was almost suppertime and he had to meet Katniss, who had left the training station unexpectedly early with another female tribute from district 1. _What was she up too? Careers hardly ever took notice of other districts_… Peeta thought. He would have to remind himself to ask her when he had the chance.

Stepping in the elevator that would bring him up to the twelfth floor, he had the unfortunate chance of meeting up with Cato again, who quickly stepped into the elevator before he missed the shuttle.

Peeta became aware that Cato was studying him from his peripherals, and Peeta took the chance to see what game Cato was playing at.

"I see you're pretty good with a Sword…" before correcting himself, hoping that the other boy didn't notice that he was taking notes on his strengths. "Um, so I know you mentioned my volunteering in District 12, but that's a little hypocritical since you volunteered too," Peeta stated.

"As did all the other district 1 and 2 tributes…" Cato mumbled, making Peeta feel like an idiot. "It's just in our nature. We're raised to bring pride to our district, and winning the hunger games is the best possible way of ensuring that that happens."

Peeta was surprised that Cato continued to explain the situation, albeit many crude remarks directed toward district twelve.

"…trained since we're young for this, you know. My parents could care less about me, and I'm pretty sure they only took notice of my presence when I volunteered for the games. It was a chance for my mom to make more money – like my Dad's victory in the 53rd Hunger Games wasn't enough money for her," Cato rambled on and on, before he had told Peeta that it was his floor.

Before wishing Peeta a farewell or any customary gesture, he turned to Peeta and, closing the distance between them, said "This is off the records, twelve. This doesn't change anything." No sooner had he made his intentions clear, that he stormed off, and the elevator continued its assent.

**The Penthouse**

Katniss was already waiting for him when he stepped off the golden-laced elevator, quickly embracing him in her arms before pulling him to the couch for some much needed discussion. Before Peeta could even begin to tell her anything, he was immediately silenced by Katniss' statement:

"I talked to Johanna, you know the one with red and black hair, great with an axe, a little over-the-top…" Peeta was waiting for her point, waiting several minutes before Katniss pulled herself together. "Well anyways, she told me she's in!"

"In our alliance? Really?" Peeta looked a little taken aback, but pulled himself together, allowing for Katniss to continue.

"Yes! She told me her district partner is basically useless to her, and that she was impressed with my close-range fighting skills. Anyways, enough about me, I'm dying to hear about your day! Did you make any friends? Allies?" Katniss asked.

Peeta pulled his legs onto the couch with him, grabbing the burgundy blanket that draped itself over the edge of the brown couch, before beginning to explain.

"Well, I wouldn't say friends or allies, really. But I do have someone in mind that I think would be great for our game!" Peeta said, anxious for Katniss to hear who he had in mind.

"And?! Who it is?" Katniss asked, leaning close before Peeta responded:

"Cato."


	2. Roses and Thorns

**Chapter 2: Roses and Thorns**

**The Penthouse**

"Cato?!" Katniss screeched, piercing Peeta's ears like a siren. "Why would you want that bloodthirsty monster in our alliance? You seen how he treated the others during training yesterday, not to mention Haymitch's disapproval!"

"I know, I know" Peeta began, attempting to reassure Katniss that he had not completely lost it. "Look, I spoke to him briefly in the elevator on the way up here, he's not like the other tributes!" Katniss' piercing glare followed by a look of disbelief signaled that Peeta wasn't too convincing in his endeavor. "Yes, alright, he's violent and has a strong temper, but he also seems to be hiding a side to him that's unlike the rest of the other tributes. I saw it when I spoke to him. I promise, I'm not craz-"

"Not crazy? No, Peeta, you've gone completely mad! He's not a good guy, and I won't stand by and allow you to be played like this!" Katniss interrupted in an enraged tone. Overly upset, Katniss got up from the couch and began to pace back and forth before him in the living quarters.

"Fine! We'll play it your way. We need more than one ally, Katniss. Who knows how many careers there are if District 4 joins them too," Peeta spoke quietly. He was a little disappointed that Katniss didn't trust him the same way he did with her, but he would have to learn to be more of a team-member if he was to survive in the arena.

Before they had their chance to continue their conversation, the sound of heels clicking against the marble floors and a figure appearing dressed in a mirage of green silk and white floral patterns, with emerald hair and green lips, signaled that they were in for it.

"My my, I never!" Effie proclaimed, looking at both Peeta and Katniss with a glare that signaled her unhappiness. "Are you aware of the hour?! You two need to get some rest immediately. We have a big day tomorrow, what with President Snow's annual ball. Now off you go!" she stammered, ushering Peeta from the room as a smirk began to rise on Katniss' face in regard to Effie's costume.

"Goodnight, Katniss!" Peeta hollered, before the door closed and he was escorted to his room to receive a little shut-eye before tomorrow's event.

**Snow's Mansion**

"Now, you both are to be on your best behavior tonight. Remember to smile, this is a recorded event!" Effie reminded her tributes. Peeta had become accustomed to Effie's constant nagging by this point. Although she was similar to every other brainwashed citizen of the capitol, she had a heart that both Katniss and he were made aware of through her constant badgering. It was endearing really.

"Yes, Effie, what would we do without you" Katniss retorted, her sarcasm clearly evident in her tone of voice. For Peeta, this went without saying, although Effie was not too quick on the uptake and smiled before running off after a stylist from District 6.

Peeta had never seen such a beautiful home. _Well, the outside anyways_, he thought. The mansion was towering and lengthy, all white of course, like much of the other buildings in the capitol. Snow's mansion was trimmed with evergreen trees, ostrich ferns, and a rose garden that spanned the entire right side of the building. The backyard where the gala took place had brick walkways with white-patterned capitol seals and a garnishing fountain that had ice statues of roses that bobbed on the waters surface.

The night sky was illuminated with reds and whites as lights from the garden shone unto the bricks. Candles illuminated the tables, which were lined with white sheets, red napkins and a single red rose.

"So this is where our taxes go to," Peeta joked, a giggle rising from Katniss who gave him a quick smile, and proceeded to go mingle in an open-back red gown, hair curled and threaded with white sparkles.

Walking toward the floor, Peeta notices that across the yard a couple of tributes are staring at him. Looking down to avoid their gaze, Peeta quickly heads for the drink table. The table is lined with fanciful drinks of every shade and color with glasses resembling broad icicles, and fountains of alcoholic juices flowing down into a large dish. Glancing at his choices, Peeta goes to grab a red drink, before it is quickly taken from his grasp.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man spoke. "Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee."

"Hello, I'm Pe—" Peeta began before being cut off.

"I know who you are, Peeta Mellark. The drinks here are a little…strong, for lack of better words," Plutarch stated.

Before their conversation could progress, a gong went off signaling the arrival of President Snow and the beginning of the night's festivities. The doors to the balcony of the mansion opened up, revealing a tall figure dressed in a white tuxedo, like the rest of the men at the party, with a white beard, and a single red rose garnishing his suit.

"Welcome citizens of Panem! A round of applause for our tributes who join us tonight!" Applause rang out around the building, before Snow continued: "In a way of celebrating the 89th annual Hunger Games, we take the night to acknowledge the sacrifice of our tributes for the honor of their districts. In this, the 89th Hunger Games, we celebrate tonight's evening as a Fire and Ice ball. May you all enjoy your stay!" trailing off, Peeta disregarded anything the man had to say, and quickly went over to where some of the other tributes were standing.

"Johanna!" Peeta called out, before approaching the District 7 tribute with a smile and a slight wave of his hand.

"What are you doing, Peeta? We have to keep our alliance on the down low, you idiot" Johanna said, attempting to stay calm, but losing her temper quickly with him. "Go talk to someone else," she stammered.

"Uh, okay, sorry to bother you" Peeta said, before walking off.

"Hey, Twelve!" Peeta heard, before turning around to see a strong, blonde-haired boy with broad shoulders standing before him. _Cato_, he thought.

"Um, h-hi Cato, what's up?" Peeta said, unsure whether he was about to be pummeled or not.

"Meet me in the rose garden in 20 minutes," Cato said, smiling before running off to see the other careers, particularly a young girl with black hair and a petite figure that Peeta remembered from his training sessions. She was good with a knife, and pretty cocky about it too.

Time passed quickly as Peeta mingled with some of the tributes from District 5 and 9 who were unusually absent from training lately. Walking over to the garden, he made sure that he was not being followed by anyone, and taking one last glance over his shoulder, walked down the brick pathway and through the passageway, before he was entranced by a swarm of red roses on either side.

**The Rose Garden**

Peeta seemed to be the first to arrive, so he took a chance to admire his surroundings and the smell of fresh cut flowers that lingered in the air around him. Sitting down on a white marble bench that had intricate patterns of some sort of ancient civilization, he began to hear a shifting of footsteps to his left.

"Peeta…Peeta…Are you there?" Cato whispered, trying not to notify any of the peacekeepers that lined the hedges of the mansion walls before the garden.

"Hi Cato, I see you made it. But let me ask you: Why did you want me here?" Peeta spent no time trying to play around, and simply got straight to the point.

"Look, Peeta, I wanted to see if you had made any alliances yet in the games?" Cato asked, suddenly interested in what Peeta had to offer. "I'm not like those other careers, and when you group me with them it hurts that you or anybody else would consider me that bloodthirsty."

"I-uhm-I-I don't really have any alliances in place yet, Cato" Peeta explained. _Why did I just lie to him?_ Peeta thought, before continuing with a smirk: "I didn't realize you were so easily offended, I guess because I assumed you were all tough and-"

"I am tough. What are you talking about twelve? I could take you down right here if I wanted to…" Cato exclaimed, Peeta suddenly aware of his situation and how he'd have to begin to think about things before jumping into them like this.

"I was only joking, Cato, learn to take a joke" Peeta said, nudging the other boy with his elbow and a half-hearted smile ringing across his face.

"Oh, sorry" Cato said quietly. Peeta took notice of how hard that must have been for Cato to say, so he decided to take things a little more seriously. "Look, if you don't want to be in an alliance, that's fine. I have plenty of options anyways. I just thought since it was so easy to talk to you in the elevator yesterday…" he trailed off, seeing a sudden glimmer in Peeta's eyes light up.

"I'd love to." Peeta admitted. He could have made a comment about how hard it'd be to trust him or throw in a joke about how desperate Cato must be to have come to Peeta as an ally, but he thought it better that he keep things simple.

"Great! Oh, that's so great! Perfect" Cato said, before realizing how excited he must have sounded and corrected himself with a small "good" comment. Peeta thought that was really cute. _Did I just say that Cato was being cute_, Peeta thought? Shaking his head and telling himself that now was not the time to be crushing on someone, he nodded in approval to Cato and began to walk off.

"Peeta, wait" Cato said, which made Peeta smile since he didn't refer to him as 'twelve' anymore. Reaching out his hand and grabbing Peeta's wrist, Cato said in a light voice, "I just have to know…is there something going on between you and Katniss?"

Feeling the pressure of Cato's hand against his wrist was enough to cause Peeta's pulse to skyrocket. Cato's hand was firm in place, strong but not overbearing, and it caused the hairs on his arm to rise. "Why would you ask that?" Peeta asked, voice shaking due to his nervousness. The boy had yet to let go of his wrist.

"Well, I've seen you and Katniss talking a lot, whether in training sessions or tonight at Snow's 'Fire and Ice' party. I see the way the she looks at you as if she has something she has to protect. Well, am I wrong?"

"So you've been watching me?" Peeta said, a flicker of happiness flashing across his face and a smile settling on his lips.

Letting go of Peeta's wrist quickly and suddenly, Cato quickly tried to correct his previous statement, "N-No, I just…I've been watching everybody, which includes you, I guess" Cato's voice was clearly a little shaky and a tinge of red began to paint itself all over his cheeks.

"No, we're not together. Trust me, we're just friends, nothing more. She's just protective because she doesn't want me to get hurt again." Peeta admitted, able to confess how he was really feeling to Cato.

"Hurt? Who hurt you? So help me I will—" coughing to compose himself, Cato continued on: "I mean, that's good. I'm glad. No, not glad, I just meant that I didn't really know, and if you two were, then I'd have been right and that would have been bad, well not bad…" stopping himself out of embarrassment, he looks up to Peeta, blue eyes shining under the moonlight. "Am I making any sense?"

"I understand what you mean, Cato. Don't worry, it's just the wrong time and the wrong place." Peeta assured him.

"You mean with Katniss and yourself, or?" Cato inquired.

Peeta suddenly became aware of how curious Cato had become throughout their conversation, and knew that he wasn't like the other tributes. He had something none of the other careers had. Something that distinguished him from the countless other careers who came and went throughout the Hunger Games. Cato had a heart.

"Cato…Katniss and I will never have a right time because… well because…because I'm not into girls. Cato, I'm gay." Peeta admitted, quickly regretting his decision as his nerves registered with him. The seconds passed in a way that seemed like hours, and yet Cato didn't make any movements and his gaze was unwavering. Completely flushed with embarrassment and insecurity, Peeta apologized and began to walk away mumbling, "I understand if you no longer want to be in an alliance with me."

Walking away, Peeta began to tear up when he realized that this time he would not have a hand to stop him. With each and every step he was walking away from a potential love interest, someone he was able to be completely open with, whom up until this point, didn't judge him for what he had to say. Someone who could take away his own problems so that he could comfort the other boys' problems back at home in District 2.

Upon leaving the garden he hears Cato sigh, and ducking his head back through the passageway, makes his way back to the party. Catching a glimpse of a girl in an open-back red dress, he approaches hoping it's Katniss.

"Katniss?" Peeta began, before the figure before him fell into him with a thud.

"Where have you been?" Peeta makes out between the stammering and mumbling. Noticing a glass in Katniss' hand, he quickly makes the connection and takes the glass, placing it swiftly on a server's tray that happened to pass by at that exact moment.

"I had to meet with someone. Katniss, I'm leaving and you're coming with me" Peeta exclaimed, propping her up and putting her arm over his own shoulders. Stammering back from the party seemed like ages, the walk from the party to the chauffeurs wasn't exactly easy to keep from the media, and so he had to take the long way around. He wished he had told Katniss about the drinks before he got so caught up in his own affairs…At least it'd take off the edge, and Katniss was anything but composed as of recently.

**The Penthouse – Following Morning**

"Time to get up, Katniss!" Peeta said, shaking the sheets that lay above Katniss' head. He had spent the night with her to make sure she was all right. It was their final training session, because tomorrow was their last chance to make a name for themselves before the Capitol, during their interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Today was their last chance to prepare themselves for what they might endure during the arena, and to learn new tricks. Peeta especially had to practice with the throwing knives so he'd be prepared for his private session with the gamemakers.

"I'm up, I'm up, God you don't need to say it twice princess" Katniss said drearily before propping herself up quickly, and grabbing Peeta's shoulders, concern flashing across her face. "I didn't mean it like that…you know, in that way…" she said, excusing her behavior.

"Don't worry, I can take a joke." Peeta replied, _unlike some people_, he thought, memories of the night before striking him like a knife..."I was with Cato last night, when I ran off about halfway into Snow's party."

"Are you stupid, Peeta? There's no other explanation as to why you would want to hang around with that boy unless you…." Katniss started groggily, and then it hit her.

"Peeta Mellark! You have got to be kidding me!" Katniss screamed, and pulling the sheets over herself, crashed back into the bed with a grunt of disapproval.


	3. Honesty

**Chapter 3: Honesty**

**The Penthouse**

Katniss had ignored him for most of the morning shuffling about her room frantically trying to get things in order, and finally preparing her clothes before stepping into the shower. Katniss' shower seemed like it lasted forever, leaving Peeta to pace about back and forth outside the door trying to process her reaction to the news. He really didn't know how he felt about Cato, all he knew was that Cato continuously surprised him with how different he was from the other tributes and when he wasn't around Peeta was still thinking about him.

When Peeta heard the water turn off he hurriedly ran over to the door. "Can we at least talk about this," Peeta whispered through the door. He got his answer when the blow-dryer started, signaling that Katniss was almost ready and had no intention of forgiving Peeta for going back on his word to her. It was hard to avoid Cato because he was the one who kept approaching him.

When the door opened and Katniss rushed past him, she quickly grabbed a couple of fruit that lined the tray of the obsidian glass table, a mixture of berries, grapes, and golden apples – a predominant fruit in the Capitol that was excessively sweet. The Capitol sure loved their sweets and the amount of access they had to it was almost disgusting compared to their share in District 12.

Peeta was taken from his train of thought when Katniss nudged him with her elbow, apple in mouth and clothes in hand, asking if he was ready through the mouthful of fruit. Peeta nodded and quickly followed her to the elevator.

On the way down to the training centre, Peeta thought over the events that happened the night before with Cato. _Were they still in an alliance?_ From the way he reacted it was probably not a good sign, so he would do his best to avoid the blonde boy today. _Like he would approach me in the first place_, Peeta chuckled at his own misfortune. Just as he was about to step out of the elevator, the door opened, and Peeta's eye shot up to register which floor it had stopped at. It was not the basement training centre, it was the living quarters of District 2, and Cato and Enobaria stood before him, ushering their way into the elevator.

"Good morning, Peeta" Cato said, quickly looking away from the younger blonde boy. _That's unusual_, Peeta remarked to himself, noting that this was probably a good sign as to how their alliance stood at this point in time: _he won't kill me if he doesn't have to, but when it comes down to it, he probably won't protect me either_, he thought.

"Morning…" Peeta groaned and a flash of teeth from Enobaria signaling her disgust at his comment immediately silenced anything else he had to say. _And they say all careers are pretty…blahh_ _look at those teeth._

**The Training Centre**

The moment the elevator opened, Peeta hurried out quickly followed by Katniss who looked at him empathetically, the first emotion he had seen that wasn't a sense of "stone cold betrayal." Pulling Katniss aside as half of the District 2 tributes walked out joining Clove and Brutus, Peeta began to explain just what had happened last night.

"Alright, if you can just listen for 2 minutes, I promise I can clear the air between us," Peeta said solemnly, looking to Katniss' eyes for any means of reassurance. A nod on her behalf demonstrated that she was ready to listen to what he had to say. _And how was he going to say this exactly…_

"Cato approached me at Snow's mansion and asked for me to meet him in the Garden. When I went to meet him, he discussed becoming allies with me, and I lied to him when I told him that I had no previous ties to other tributes alliance-wise. He seemed so happy, Katniss, and you can't stand there and disagree with me when I see he does have a certain charm…"

Katniss quickly chimed in "I never said he wasn't good-looking…he just isn't trustworthy, in my opinion."

"I understand why you feel that way. The point is: ever since the first day in training after our run-in he's been different…opening up to the possibility of making friends. Katniss, we all need someone right now – and although we have each other – Cato doesn't really have anyone like him that understands what he's going through. I don't know why he wants me to be his ally, but he could be useful. He can handle his own in a fight, he's particularly good with a sword and knives, and he's strong." Peeta finished his ramble, looking over to see a worried Cato looking his way, and breaking their line of sight turned back to Katniss to see what she had to say.

"Ugh…fine Mellark. The only way this is going to work though is if you tell him that Johanna and I come with the deal. Otherwise, it's him or me." Katniss gave me a grave look and walked over to the plant identification station.

Peeta took this opportunity to work on his long-range weaponry skills. He would have to brush up before showing his skills to the gamemakers and this would be the perfect time to take his mind off of his situation with Katniss and Cato.

When he arrived at the long-range section, he noticed two other tributes working on their knife-throwing abilities. _Gloss and Cashmere_, Peeta reminded himself, _brother and sister_… _lethal in combat_. Haymitch warned him about these tributes from District 1 beforehand, having known their parents who were also victors during his time as mentor.

When he approached the station Peeta could see the plentitude of knives available: black oxide balanced knives, short-steel tomahawks, and unbalanced steel spear-points, among others. Peeta was always best with balanced black oxide knives that had smooth edges, yet lethal when struck by its end.

Peeta noticed that both of the careers before him used a variety of throwing knives and all their targets were eliminated. Taking the reigns on this round of targets, Peeta stepped forward into the "light room" with targets that were made out of projection lighting. Looking to the panel for his options, Peeta quickly selected ten armed targets. Glancing around the training room that felt a world away now that he was secluded, Peeta caught sight of Marvel and Brutus wielding spears, and thus selected the spear-throwing targets for the bonus round.

The lights dimmed and soon Peeta found himself in darkness, with a dozen throwing-knives for ten targets. As the simulation began, Peeta found himself thinking about Cato and his situation with Katniss, before systematically pushing his thoughts aside to focus on the task at-hand.

His first target ran at him from the above panel, to which Peeta quickly threw an underhand knife, striking the target through the ribs under the heart. It was not long before more targets started appearing around him. Fueling with anger, Peeta launched two knives striking both victims between the eyes, and turning to dodge a spear that missed him by inches. Tossing two knives to either side and taking out the opposition, before barrel rolling, Peeta tossed a knife that struck the target dead centre in the throat. Continuing to take out his targets until they were all disposed of, Peeta felt satisfied with his abilities and prepared for his private session with Plutarch and the rest of the gamemakers and capitol officials.

**Individual Assessment**

Haymitch had prepared Katniss and Peeta for individual assessment the day they arrived in the Capitol, the other two district twelve tributes mindfully taking note of its dire importance to survival in the arena. A good result meant sponsors, and sponsors meant a greater chance at winning the games.

As Peeta was District 12 he would have to go fourth from last, before the other tributes from his district and after all the other districts. When Cato's name was called, Peeta looked up to see if he was looking back at him but there was no glance toward him before the older blonde boy walked through the doors and disappeared. It was reaching upon the fourth hour when "Peeta Mellark, please report for individual assessment" rang across the microphone. Breathing a sigh of worry, he raised himself from the seat and walked through the automatic doors, which quickly locked behind him, and then proceeded to present himself to the gamemakers.

"Peeta Mellark. District 12."

Peeta took a moment to figure out what he was going to do with his ten minutes time interval before realizing what would surely get the attention of the Gamemakers.

"You may begin, Peeta." Looking up, Peeta knew the voice before he had the chance to register the face: Plutarch.

Racing over to a white dummy that protruded from a shelf over near the camouflage station, Peeta began to work. _This will surely get their attention_ Peeta chuckled to himself. After approximately five minutes, Peeta went back to the throwing knives and picked up three slim black knives with silver serrated edges.

Holstering the dummy up with the use of rope and hanging the dummy, Peeta watched as the Peacekeepers were signaled to stop him from his next move.

"Peeta, that is enough. You are dismissed."

Laughing to himself, Peeta turned to walk away before turning around and throwing the three knives singularly, each one piercing the heart. Then, taking a bow, Peeta turned to walk away mumbling, "Panem! I present to you President Snow."

**The Penthouse**

Peeta was summoned to Katniss' room to sit with Haymitch and Effie as the scores of the tributes were presented via Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith. Peeta had yet to mention to his fellow tributes and friends what he had done during his private session.

Claudius Templesmith's voice rings out stating that the tributes were going to have their scores presented now. Peeta paid attention singularly to those he cared for, allied with, and who presented a threat.

Marvel – 5

Glimmer – 8

Gloss – 9

Cashmere - 8

Clove – 9

Enobaria – 10

Brutus – 5

Finnick – 10

Johanna – 10

Katniss – 10

All the results seemed very obvious, except for Marvel and Brutus who must have done something wrong during their individual assessments.

Finally Peeta's name was called, and before he could register what happened, Effie, Haymitch, and the other tributes gasped and inquired to what he did to achieve such a low score.

After explaining what happened, Haymitch stood shaking his head at Peeta. "How dumb are you, Peeta? This is the Hunger Games…not some sandbox where somebody has kicked over your sandcastle. You need sponsors. You'll be lucky if you get anything now..." Haymitch exclaimed, furious with his tribute. As all the others scored exceedingly well, Peeta's score must have come as a shock to the others.

"I don't care what the Capitol thinks of me. This isn't fair in the first place. Katniss can I talk to you alone?" Peeta replied, not in the mood for a lecture from Effie too.

"Sure thing." Katniss walked with Peeta toward her bedroom, resting beside him on her bed. "What's going on with you Peeta?" she said shaking her head and placing her hand on his lap. The warm touch felt great against his leg and the feeling of comfort that had been stolen from Peeta when he was forced to volunteer came rushing back in that moment with Katniss.

"I don't know, Katniss. I can't stop thinking about Cato, he's the only one who seems to understand me, and now I've gone and ruined the whole thing. I'm not even sure we're allies anymore." Peeta said, beginning to cry. "I feel like I'm wounded, and it doesn't help that Haymitch and yourself treat me like it. Even the tributes look at me like I'm bait…"

"Peeta, Peeta, Peeta…" Katniss repeated taking Peeta into her arms. Peeta held her tightly afraid she would let go and he would be left without anyone. "I think you should talk to Cato. It's clearly bothering you, and you need to get this off your chest before the games. As your friend, I'm telling you to do this. I need to get my sleep. Early interviews tomorrow remember? Then we'll be sent to the arena." Katniss was really convincing, especially when it came to thinking rationally, which Peeta admitted he was not doing.

"I think you're right. Do you think you could send him up to the rooftop to meet me?" he asked. After seeing her nod her approval, he left for the rooftop without taking a second glance back toward Haymitch and Effie who sat together on the sofa trying to see what they could do about Peeta's situation.

**The Rooftop**

When he walked out into the cool night air that danced around the top of the roof, Peeta was swarmed with a fresh breeze that lingered with the scent of pines that surrounded the complex. Taking in the sights around him such as the intricate railing with budding vines and a city as far as the eye can see with banners lined with the Capitol seal, Peeta felt like he was in a faraway land. Away from the recklessness and destruction associated with the Hunger Games.

In his trail of thought, Peeta lost focus of his surroundings, and when a hand landed on his shoulder, he jumped in panic fearing it was a peacekeeper.

"Hey, don't worry, it's just me" Cato said softly, a twinkle in his gaze from the moon reflecting off of his cobalt blue eyes. His hair was somewhat different tonight, more spikey and messy-looking than it had been at any time before. _Sexy_, he thought. He wore a dark V-neck that showed off his arms and his slim chest, and dark jeans that tapered his legs slimly. "Katniss told me to meet you up here, what's going on? Did something happen? I didn't think you wanted to talk to me after you stormed away the other night in the rose garden…" Cato wondered.

Breathing in a shallow breath before speaking, Peeta motioned for the older blonde to sit beside him on the wooden bench.

"I really don't know where to start, Cato" Peeta said, before being silenced by the other boy's finger over his lips. The rush of Cato's touch against his lips caused his face to blush and a ripple effect sent itself down his spine. _I don't think Cato knows his effect on me_, Peeta thought to himself.

"Then allow me." Cato said softly. "The other night when you told me you didn't like Katniss in that way because you were only interested in boys, I didn't mean to let you walk off the way you did. I was just shocked and left speechless. But listen to me when I say that I don't have a problem with that at all, okay?" Cato started, silencing Peeta's quick interference again. "The reason I asked if you were with Katniss was because I – how do I say this – well, if it's not obvious already, I like you too."

Peeta almost fell out of his seat, before Cato's grip could steady him. His muscles all gave out at the idea that Cato could actually like him back. "I don't understand, you don't seem like—"

"Like the type? I hate when people say that. Just because I'm tough and intimidating doesn't mean that I have to like girls, you know," Cato said, if not sternly then reassuringly.

"Intimidating…hmm…I don't think I'd take it that far" Peeta said with a wink and a small laugh.

"What do you mean? This…doesn't intimidate you" Cato said, inching himself closer to Peeta.

"Not in the slightest blondy" Peeta replied, pushing the boy back from him. _Are we flirting right now?_

"Blondy…weird nickname, but I'll take it on one condition" Cato said, before Peeta looked questioningly back at him unsure where he was going with this.

"If you reassure me that you'll be my ally in the games," Cato inquired.

Looking back at the tall boy with the shaggy blonde hair and the black V-neck that hung loosely around his chest, Peeta couldn't say no. "Absolutely, but I have a condition of my own…you have to let Katniss and Johanna join too."

Peeta watched as many emotions passed over Cato's face: joy, sadness, curiosity, and acceptance. "That's fine by me. As long as you trust them, then they're friends of mine too," Cato replied, before reaching in for a hug.

"I'm sorry! Was that pushing your boundaries?" Cato exclaimed.

"Not in the least. I actually kind of enjoyed it…" Peeta said, a warm red blush filling his cheeks along with the boy next to him.

"I don't want to ruin our moment…but how are we going to kill 46 tributes…" Peeta said, worryingly.

"I don't care about them right now. I just care about you," Cato whispered.

_It was now or never_, Peeta thought. Reaching forward enough to close the distance between them Peeta's lips locked onto Cato's. There was an immediate sense of longing in Peeta's lips that came with the sensation of Cato's own. His lips were unbelievably soft. The kiss started out slow and innocent, as Cato reached his hand up to play through Peeta's golden locks and Peeta resting a hand on waist. Before the kiss could take them any further, Cato pulled back to take a breath and calm himself.

"Wow, that was…" Cato began…

"Amazing." Peeta finished.

For the remainder of the night, Peeta stayed on the rooftop in Cato's strong arms, where the sound of the wind chiming and the scent of fresh pine and Cato's cologne filled him with all the happiness in the world. For the first time since he arrived in the Capitol, he remembered what it meant to be happy. And for the first time since he arrived in the Capitol, he spent the night just listening to Cato's heartbeat, because for once Peeta's reality, in that moment, was better than any dream he could conjure from his imagination.

**Pumpkinking5: Thank you so much for your review! I really appreciate your kind words, and I was glad to see that you understand how the story is progressing! If you have any concerns or constructive criticism I'd be glad to hear it: this is my first time writing fanfiction. I'll keep writing as many as I can, so definitely check back! Thanks again **


	4. Paradise Lost

Cato: 18 years old

Peeta: 17 years old

**Chapter 4: Paradise Lost**

The sound of a dawn chorus awoke the two boys from their slumber; Capitol birds that sang together in a sweet melody to signal a new dawn had arrived. Cato was the first to wake up and quickly realized that his blonde beau had fallen asleep in his lap. Cato noticed that the younger boy had not yet woken up from the chorus that shook itself along the Capitol and the booms of "Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem for always" making its way throughout the valley.

Cato took this bittersweet moment to admire the younger boy's natural beauty. Moving his hand from his side to tussle around in the Peeta's golden locks of hair, Cato noticed the fine features that he had not had the opportunity to distinguish from a distance: Peeta had long eyelashes which currently caressed his cheeks in his sleep, a jawline that was exceptional in illuminating the tips of his sweet, rosy lips, and a seamlessly beautiful collar bone structure that lead into strong shoulders and muscular arms – which must have been a result of his hard labor in District 12 that he had told him about the previous night, before falling into a deep sleep.

Before Cato could admire any more of the sweet boys dashing looks, a slow movement along Peeta's arms and the flicker of his light blue eyes indicated that the younger boy had awoken.

"How long have you been up?" Peeta mumbled, his voice weak from lack of use, all the while rubbing his fists along his eyes to rid of the morning sleep that lie along the crease in his eyes.

"Just a couple of minutes. I didn't want to wake you, so I just sort of watched you sleep…that's not weird or anything is it?" Cato began, looking to Peeta for any reassurance that he had not took things too far. _God, when did I become such a sap?…he_ thought to himself, lifting his shoulder upright as the other boy sat up from his lap.

"Oh…no it's oaky. It was probably the best sleep I've had in a while," Peeta smiled as he spoke, unsure how he had become so lucky since the reaping to have been able to wake up beside such a mysterious and beautiful boy.

"Glad to hear it. I got a little sleep myself too. We have our interviews this morning, remember?" Cato replied, his face exerting happiness and sorrow all together. With every stolen moment he had with Peeta, there was always the underlying influence of the Capitol, threatening to take everything he had worked so hard to achieve away from him.

"Don't remind me…" Peeta chuckled, the other boy laughing alongside him, before admitting that he was not good with big crowds. Back in District 12, Peeta was no more a socialite than he was here in the Capitol. Before his thoughts could take him back to his life in District 12 that seemed to be in a whole other life, he felt the warmth of Cato's hand brush up against his left cheek.

"Just look at me when you're nervous. I'll be right there," Cato spoke softly, his confidence and reassurance doing its best to calm Peeta's nerves. This boy had altered Peeta's whole world in the last few days, and Peeta had never felt such a bond between himself and another person. Surely he and Katniss were very close, but things with Cato were different. They were natural…easy…

"Thank you…" Peeta replied, smiling up at the taller boy who moved closer to take him in for a full embrace. Peeta noticed how strong Cato was when his arms held him, sheltering him from the destruction that the Capitol imposed on their lives. _If only this moment could last_, Peeta thought.

"We better get going, Clove and the others are going to start to get suspicious," Cato said, implying that his night out would not go unnoticed with the Careers, seemingly keeping tabs on his every decision.

Cato pulled himself to his feet, and reaching a hand out to steady Peeta, who was surprised that Cato would offer him a helping-hand in the first place. _It wasn't a hard task to get up from a bench_, Peeta thought. But before he could read any more into the gesture, Peeta understood why he offered a hand to him in the first place. Acknowledging Cato's actions, the two boys walked toward the rooftop elevator, both smiling at one another as they made their way slowly, fingers interlaced with one another. Unknowingly it would be the last time the two boys would share a peaceful moment together, before forcefully being sent to the arena to fight for survival.

**The Penthouse**

Peeta walked into his living room, where he was unsurprised to see Haymitch, Effie, Katniss, and the two other district 12 tributes waiting for him. He had shared another embrace with Cato in the elevator before he was forced to get off at the first stop on their descent. It was a quick caress but nonetheless it stood for something to Peeta: it stood as a token of their allegiance to one another, both as friends and allies.

"Well," Effie said, and upon seeing her face Peeta knew that something was amiss. "And where do you think you've been all morning? We have a tight schedule today, and all my tributes need to look—"

"Perfect," Peeta inquired before a ripple crossed Effie's face demonstrating that she was not impressed with his tone.

"Exactly," Effie pointed out before continuing with an over-the-top wave of her hands, which sparkled with the glimmer of fuchsia baubles. "Now. We have the interviews with Caesar Flickerman in a couple of hours, so we must get to work right away. Portia! Cinna!" Effie called out the names of the stylists who worked to make their every appearance a memorable one, for the Capitol accepted nothing less than marvelous.

"Haymitch," Peeta whispered, catching the attention of their mentor who nearly batted an eye at him before turning away. _Clearly still upset with my individual assessment act_…he thought. "Could I have a word with you…in private?" Peeta asked.

The older man took a look at his tributes before nodding at Peeta and walking over to the dining room to their right. Peeta walked eagerly behind him, anxious to get this out of the way. Haymitch had always preferred Katniss for her stubbornness…_Probably because it was a common attribute_, Peeta considered.

"What do you need, Peeta?" Haymitch spoke, taking a small sip from his scotch before looking at Peeta with a questioning look in his eyes, eyebrows furrowed in anticipation to get back to the other tributes.

"I know how you feel after my stunt with the gamemakers, and I…well I'm sorry. But I need you to promise me something. Please, Haymitch." Peeta was unsure whether his mentor was prepared for what he had to confess to him. "I need you to promise me that you'll do your best to protect Katniss if it comes down to it…and Cato." Peeta was about to continue until he was silenced by Haymitch's over-bearing anger.

"That district two scum!? Why would I ever want to help him? He's a Career, Peeta. _Lethal_. Get that through that thick head of yours." Haymitch said and preparing to turn around was stilled by Peeta's next statement.

"I have nothing waiting for me in District 12, except an abusive mother and a run-down bakery. I could live a hundred lives and never deserve to win over Katniss. She has family, her young sister Prim, and Gale," Peeta began, tears forming in his eyes at the thought of Katniss' sister Prim, if she were to lose Katniss. "And Cato…I want him to be able to bring pride to his District and finally be accepted for the wonderful guy that he is – both by his family and friends. Haymitch, whatever you do, do not further my game if it means taking from theirs. There can only be two victors, we both know that."

"Peeta…I couldn't…wouldn't be able to promise you that." Resting a hand on Peeta's shoulder, Haymitch motioned for the two to sit down in the steel chairs that lined the black glass table. "Peeta, I've never met another boy like yourself throughout all my years of being a mentor. Your selfless nature is inspiring," and taking another gulp of his drink, "and also quite stupid. But if you believe that Katniss…and Cato…deserve to come out of this alive, then I will do my best to help them. This has never been done before, Peeta. Helping another districts tribute, I mean."

Peeta could tell that Haymitch was trying his best to be supportive of his tribute, but through his gritted teeth Peeta could feel a sense of disappointment in Haymitch that mocked Peeta's self-sacrificing nature.

"Peeta, ever since the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games, the third quarter quell, there has been an uprising in the Capitol, which the peacekeepers have tried their best to silence. I'm sure you know this already, but as you know, the gamemakers have tried to calm down the revolution by ordering double the amount of tributes. The more bloodshed that occurs in the arena, well, the greater the response from the citizens." With a sigh that exuded itself from Haymitch's lungs, the older man took hold of the scotch in his hands and guzzled it all down before continuing his speech.

"You have a lot on your shoulders, Peeta. I'll do my best to ensure that you all make it to the end, but as much as I can try, I cannot guarantee this, okay?" Haymitch lifted his eyes to finally meet with Peeta's and registered the pain that the seventeen-year-old boy was feeling, and just how unfair his situation truly was. "If you can get everyone together from District 12, including Cato and Johanna, then I will have more to work with. But until then…" and Peeta knew what was coming next, "…may the odds be ever in your favor" Haymitch scoffed.

…

Walking back to the living room followed by a near drunken Haymitch, Peeta thought it was best to get to know they other tributes a little better, considering Katniss and himself had stuck to themselves most of the journey so far. Peeta considered that they were unusually young tributes this year and remarkably silent…_probably taking in everything too,_ Peeta thought.

"Hey Katniss! Hey guys!" Peeta said, attempting to be as sociable as possible. "You all ready for your interviews?" he asked with an inquisitive look on his face.

"I'm a little nervous," the female tribute responded to which Peeta noticed that her blonde hair was tied to the side, like Katniss had done the past few days.

"Same here…" the male tribute added. He was very small for his age, and Peeta felt sorry for him, knowing that if it came down to it, he would not be able to protect him.

Katniss scoffed at the two tributes, stubborn as always, but made an effort to build friendships. "I think it'll be the perfect moment for you both to show off your charismatic nature. Caesar loves jokes, if I recall correctly." Katniss spoke with such reassurance that the younger tributes were quick to smile and all regard of fear was lost. _They must remind her of her sister_, Peeta thought upon looking at Katniss' grin when she spoke with the other tributes.

Portia came over to take Peeta from his mingling, all the while Effie pacing back and forth in the entranceway eager to leave the Penthouse for some much needed brushing up. With a twist of her heels and a small strut to the elevator, Effie called out that she would see them after their interviews, to remember to smile, and embrace the Capitol's love.

"I chose a nice navy blue suit for yourself, Peeta" Portia began, constantly thinking of new ways to improve on Peeta's already dashing looks. "A nice white dress shirt and a black tie. Oh! I found some lovely cufflinks that will do perfectly too."

"I'm sure you'll make me look irresistible," Peeta said, chuckling at the way Portia prided herself in the moment, taking a glance at Peeta from afar with gleaming eyes.

"As for your hair, I like it best the way it is now. Shaggy, yet also somewhat artistic." Peeta took notice of how alike most of the Capitol citizens were, ever inspired by couture and taking new approaches to the outlandish. Yet, Portia was different. Effie had nothing on the way she presented herself with Peeta; Portia could easily comfort Peeta, allowing him to be at ease with himself. Portia was not blind to Peeta's attractions, and ultimately made him desirable to all citizens of the Capitol. Women and men would find him mouthwatering.

Peeta took a glance at the other District 12 tributes, noticing first that the other male tribute that Portia had styled was in a nice burgundy tuxedo that went well with his skin tone. As for Cinna's tributes, Katniss and the young female tribute looked absolutely stunning. Cinna had such a way with making bold statements. Katniss was in an elegant white dress that was very slim in the waist and flaring toward the bottom. The dress itself was made to look like an Ice Queen, but Katniss poured life into it.

The other tribute was very properly positioned in a turquoise dress with a white puffed-out belt that hung loosely on her waist. _It was very flattering to her figure_, Peeta thought.

The microphone rang across all the floors of the tribute condominium notifying the tributes that they were to report to their chauffeurs for their trip to Caesar Flickerman's studio. This reminded Peeta of the tribute parade, but more was at stake here, especially with Peeta's score for the individual assessment. He would need to make a good impression if he was to get some sponsors…

**Caesar Flickerman**

Peeta was waiting anxiously for his turn to be interviewed by the infamous Caesar Flickerman. He had paid a lot of attention to Cato's interview, and as Peeta had expected, the blonde was a crowd pleaser. The applause rang out for minutes after the interview was done.

Peeta had been selected to go last for District 12, following Katniss. It was currently Johanna Mason's turn, which Peeta noticed that she was wearing an elegant gown that caressed her waistline and did not take away from her naturally slim figure. Her hair matched her dress perfectly: midnight black and blotched with red rubies that sparkled under the white lights of the studio.

Johanna's interview was relatively short. Caesar described her as being "_strong-hearted and determined_" as Peeta recalled. Johanna had a way with words, really, straight to the point and no filter stopping her from saying anything absurd.

After many tributes, the night began to take its toll on Peeta. Mostly all of the tributes were lined on stage listening to the others, when Katniss' name was called. Peeta noticed that she was very prepared for the questions that Caesar had for her. He asked her about Prim, the Seam, and her score during individual assessments. Peeta could see that she was on fire tonight. Not figuratively, literally. _Another trick from Cinna's book_, Peeta thought, chuckling to himself as the crowd swayed with every movement of the flames that trailed throughout her gown.

Peeta was standing in front of the black paneled doors when his name was called and soaring from the crowd rocked the stage. The doors opened to reveal Peeta, who walked anxiously toward Caesar, unaware that this many Capitol citizens had made it out for tonight's festivity. Wiping his hand along his navy pant legs to rid of the sweat that had been accumulating since Katniss' interview, Peeta acknowledged Caesar with a nod of his hand and a firm handshake.

"The wonderful Peeta Mellark! Looking dashing as always my boy!" Caesar called out, a roar of the crowd illustrating that they were in agreement. "Let's get things started." Peeta gulped quickly. "I wanted to ask you about how you volunteered to be tribute. Had you known that day that you were going to volunteer? Tell me, my boy, we're dying to hear!" A laugh rang out from Caesar Flickerman's throat that rocked the crowd in unison.

"Yes." Peeta replied nervously.

"Is that it? Come on! Tell us more!" With that the crowd began chanting "more, more, more" until Peeta was forced to continue. Stealing a quick glance at Cato who nodded reassuringly at him, Peeta felt his nerves begin to dwindle.

"I…well I thought that it was unfair for such a young tribute to be reaped, and I knew the family on a personal level. They're wonderful people, and I couldn't stand for them to potentially lose one of their own…" Peeta said, hoping his answer was sufficient enough for the audience.

"Lovely, such a lovely story! Now. Tell me, Peeta. What do you think you bring to the games that no other tribute has?" Caesar's question took Peeta off-guard, so he immediately looked to Portia in the crowd. She gave him a quick wink of her eye, almost unnoticeable under all the mascara and eye shadow that protruded around them.

"Uhm…well I think that…well I think that…" Peeta started, unsure how he would answer the question, before the answer it came to him amidst all the turmoil that rummaged through his thoughts. He had to encourage the crowd in some manner at least. "I can cook a mean cheesecake," he finished.

Laughter rose from the crowd that shook the stage and all but a few of the tributes that stood behind him chimed in with their own giggles.

"Wonderful, wonderful I say!" Caesar had a way with words that made the audience suffer under anticipation. "I have one more question for you, Peeta," Caesar started. "We are all here a little curious, more than curious shall I say, as to any love interests you may have left waiting for you back in District 12…can you elaborate on anything for us…pretty please," Caesar winked at Peeta, and with a pouty mouth, pleaded for a response that would draw the crowd in to Peeta's natural charm.

"I don't think any of the people back home take much notice of me, Caesar" Peeta laughed.

"I can't pull myself to believe that, my boy!" Caesar exclaimed.

"Well, I can tell you one thing…" Peeta said, edging the crowd on, before stealing a glance back at Cato, who was shaking his head in protest.

"And what is that? So cheeky this one…" Caesar chuckled between pearly white teeth, all smiles for the cameras.

"I do have a crush on someone…and they're here with me in the arena…" Peeta said, hoping his confession would be well received from the crowd. Rather than cheers, the crowd regarded him with sorrowful eyes.

"Oh, my boy…We pray that the odds are in your favor then." Caesar's expression had quickly gone from gleeful to melancholic. "Once more, give it up for Peeta Mellark!"

The rest of the night was a blur. He had received praise from most tributes for being openly honest with everyone, each with their own guess as to which of the tributes his mysterious crush may be. Haymitch applauded him for his ability to bring emotion from the hearts of the Capitol citizens, while Effie just looked on with grief. _She had never had a victor_, Peeta recalled.

Peeta noticed that Cato was walking by and tried to wave him over, but unfortunately Cato was busy with his mentor who was fixing his tuxedo and ushering the other District 2 tributes to their limousines.

_He had to talk with Cato before the games_…

Catching a glimpse of a black dress and dark hair with red highlights that rested on her open-back gown, Peeta called out to Johanna from District 7. She quickly dodged out of the procession and grabbed Katniss' wrist pulling her aside.

"What's going on, Peeta? We don't have much time to talk. The games start first thing tomorrow morning, so we're going to need our rest," Johanna whispered.

"I just wanted to know where we're going to meet in the games?" Peeta replied, careful not to speak too loud.

"I figured we could collect what we can from the Cornucopia and then head off together after that?" Katniss chimed in.

"Do you think it's safe with all the other tributes gunning for it themselves?" Peeta asked questioningly.

Tossing a glance behind her to see that the other tributes were filing out, Johanna quickly stated, "I think it's our best shot at getting supplies. I have to go, I'll see you in the morning." With that Johanna walked off and joined the other tributes from District 7.

The night finally came to a close with a fluster of camera flashes, Capitol broadcasting stations egging the tributes on for private interviews, and countless signatures.

**The Launch**

As Peeta awoke, he was aware of the stains that resided on his pillows from the night before. He had lost his chance to talk to Cato before the games, and the possibility of their deaths in just a short few hours of sleep, made him sob throughout the night.

After rummaging through the living quarters for something to eat before the games, Peeta noticed that he was the first of the tributes to awake. He would not eat again for a while so he made a large breakfast, before time began to pass by him. To Peeta it was only seconds, but to the world minutes were passing quickly, and the games were fast approaching.

Before Peeta realized it he was on and off of the hovercraft that took him to the arena. The hovercraft was a somber shade of grey that had red rings of flames protruding from either sides and large thrusters that made their journey seamlessly short.

…

"Thank you, Portia, for everything. I just wanted to say that befor—" Peeta began, but he was quickly silenced by Portia who took him in a grand embrace, before collecting herself and looking Peeta directly in the eyes.

"Don't. This isn't goodbye, you hear me? We're a team, you and I. So, you go in there—"

"_60 seconds until launch. May the tributes please proceed to their launch pads."_

"You go in that arena, and you make them," pointing her index finger in all directions of Panem, "pay for it." Zipping up his black uniform, customary to all the tributes, Portia pointed to the silver reflectors on the shoulder pads with a wink.

"_30 seconds until launch. This is the final warning. All tributes proceed to the launch pads."_

"This isn't goodbye, Peeta. I'll see you soon. Good luck," and with that Portia wiped a tear from her eyes, and watched as Peeta walked onto the launch pad.

As the launch began, Peeta waved slowly at Portia as a tear rolled down and stung his cheek, sizzling in place. Before Peeta could mouth a 'goodbye' he became shrouded in darkness and a deathly silence made his hands start to perspire.

When the launch pad opened to the surface, Peeta was immediately struck with a bitter cold wind, and taking in his surroundings, noticed that everywhere he looked there was nothing but darkness. Only the moonlight and the stars illuminated the few feet in front of him before a wall of darkness threatened to consume him.

A red light on the launch pad signaled that the mines were armed and a robotic arm appeared from the launch pad holding orange tinted goggles. As Peeta reached down to grab the goggles and then situating them upon his face and strapping them to his head, he immediately focused on the location of the surrounding tributes. The goggles did not completely illuminate the forest, but rather they reacted to the silver reflectors on the tributes, signifying each of their individual locations.

"Let the 89th Hunger Games begin," Claudius Templesmith's voice rang out.


	5. The Cold of Night

**Chapter 5: The Cold of Night**

**The Arena**

_ "Let the 89__th__ Hunger Games begin," Claudius Templesmith's voice rang out._

Peeta stood on the launch pad and watched as the other tributes struggled to strap their goggles on. Peeta took his 60 seconds to try and find his allies in the games and glancing to his left found that Johanna was nine tributes down from him. She was nodding at him before she set her sights back onto the cornucopia. Looking toward his left Peeta could see the two other District 12 tributes, and unfortunately directly beside him stood Enobaria. Peeta didn't think it was possible for her to look any scarier than she did with her filed down teeth, yet the goggles glowing under the moonlight made her even more terrifying.

Peeta glanced around to try and locate Katniss and Cato but could not see either ally. _They must be on the other side of the Cornucopia_, he thought. Peeta noticed that there were 24 tributes in a half-circle facing the back of the cornucopia and assumed that the other half of the tributes must have been on the other side. This already put Peeta in a disadvantage; he would have the extra 30 feet or so to walk around to the opposite side of the cornucopia.

Watching as the clock that had appeared before the cornucopia through a projection, Peeta discerned that he had 20 seconds left until the bloodshed would begin. _I could be dead in less than a minute_, Peeta reminded himself.

Haymitch's words ran through Peeta's memory: _don't trust anyone_. Peeta was never really good at making good judgments on other people's character so this was going to be a test to his abilities. _Ten seconds_, he noticed.

Peeta shifted his stance, preparing himself to run to the cornucopia faster than he had ran to anything in his life. He had to find Cato and Katniss…

**Five seconds…**

** Four seconds…**

** Three seconds…**

Peeta gulped, wiped the sweat from his palms again, and buckled down to jump off the pedestal that he had waited on for what felt like an eternity. _I'm coming Cato_…he said to himself.

**Two seconds…**

** One second…**

All of a sudden an explosion to his right signified that a tribute had attempted to get a head start on the rest of the competition and the mine placed underneath her launch pad had erupted into a stream of sparks. A lifeless body flew to the ground and the sound of a cannon rocked the air.

This was all enough to throw Peeta off of his game and the siren went off and before he knew it he was up and running toward the cornucopia. Looking to either side of him, Peeta noticed that both Enobaria and an unknown tribute from District 9 had kept up with him at an even pace.

Naturally, in the darkness, Enobaria tripped on a rock that even Peeta did not see in front of him. Luckily dodging the rock was an easy task for Peeta, as the rock did not cut directly into his line of step.

The tribute from District 9 to his left had kept up with Peeta for the entirety of his free run. Approaching the cornucopia he caught sight of Johanna running toward him in a collision course at the cornucopia.

Racing to the front of the cornucopia, Peeta barely dodged a sickle that swung directly over-head before the sound of multiple cannons began rocking the arena. Ducking past the tribute from District 6, Peeta made his way to the Cornucopia and caught sight of Cato only a few feet away fighting with another male tribute from District 3. Cato's steel blade easily sliced through the dark material the boy from District 3 was wearing, before an outpouring of blood and the sound of another cannon indicated the young boy's death.

Peeta acknowledged that Cato lived by the idea of "kill or be killed," and had gradually accepted this behavior as a part of him through the countless training session discrepancies that had taken place before the games.

Peeta was taken from his train of thought as a spear flew past him, embedding itself into one of the district 5 females and protruding through to another boy from District 7 who had snuck up behind her. The sound of two cannons rang out into the open air, signaling the death of both tributes. Flashing a glance toward where the spear had come from, Peeta noticed a brooding tribute with eyes directed onto him. _Brutus_, he recalled.

Peeta was quick-to-action, gripping a set of throwing knives and tossing several in Brutus' direction, one flying through the air and piercing Brutus in the shoulder. The other male quickly fetched for a bag of supplies before gripping Enobaria and the two beginning to challenge the remainder of the tributes who had stayed long enough to fight.

Peeta caught sight of the male tribute from District 12 and calling him over, went to turn back toward the cornucopia to grab another set of supplies when he felt a sticky, warm liquid spray across the back of his neckline. Turning around, the boy from his district fell to the ground, blood protruding from his neck as a knife had entered through the back of his neck. Boom.

Peeta had no time to mourn the young boy that he had only recently begun to know. The attacker was none other that one from Cato's district, Clove. Peeta ran toward the other side of the cornucopia where he had seen Johanna. As he turned to glance behind him, he tossed himself to the ground to avoid an arrow that flew past him, sinking itself into another male tribute. Rising to his feet, he noticed the attacker following close behind him. Edging his way to the side of the cornucopia, it took Johanna what seemed like milliseconds to divulge Peeta's fear before tossing her pickaxe into the tribute behind him.

"Thanks…" Peeta said, trailing off at the sound of more cannons. The cornucopia had become a bloodbath. The musky scent of blood mixed with warm liquids scoured the ground before them, leaving the remaining tributes standing in the thick liquid.

"Any sign of Katniss and Cato?" Johanna said, a questioning look on her face when Peeta's face drooped into a sad frown. "Hey, I'm sure he's fine. I think I saw him meet up with Katniss on the way here. They must have left after the bloodbath began and we were in the midst of it all…" her voice trailing off.

"Yeah…alright, did you get supplies?" Peeta inquired.

"Yeah, I have a water bottle, some gloves and a vile of soup. As for weapons, this is all I need," Johanna stated, tugging the axe out of her victim.

"Alright, let's go." Peeta managed a smile, and together with Johanna they walked toward the closest sector that was lined with evergreens for as far as the eye could see.

Peeta realized that he and Johanna had been walking for what seemed like miles. The darkness of the night meant that they had to walk slowly, careful of any protrusions from the ground and anything the gamemakers had set in place that might throw them off. Peeta came to realize that the tree line was getting progressively thicker the further they went into the arena. Glancing back at Johanna and seeing that she was walking at a slow pace compared to Peeta, he thought he would propose camping there for a while to rest; this would allot time for them to clean their weapons and discuss their plan for the day, now that their friends had been separated from them.

"Hey, how about we stop here for a while. We've been walking for ages, might be a good idea to rest up and plan our strategy from this point on," Peeta smiled as he spoke, seeing as the idea of resting their muscles appealed to Johanna, a twinkle in her eye and a smirk of her mouth giving her away all too easily.

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Johanna stopped dead in her tracks, before she fell to the floor in a disorganized mess, her supply bag coming up to hit her square in the jaw. "Son of a…" she started, before trailing off in a mumble that Peeta could care less to hear about.

"So, we don't know where Katniss and Cato went, but we have a pretty good guess that they're together. I'm sure Katniss will love having to deal with him for who knows how long," Peeta chimed in.

"Well, I don't even get what you see in him. Sure, he's blonde, muscular, and pretty damn sexy—"

"Be careful, Johanna, you're drooling already," Peeta said, making both of them laugh.

"It doesn't change the fact that he's a Career and has quite the temper on him. I mean, you must have noticed him during training – all the trouble he started?" Johanna inquired, a worried look on her face that told Peeta that she was a little unsure about trusting him in an alliance. Peeta thought to himself that he had better work on fixing his image before they reassembled.

"Can we just talk about what we're going to do now? We have some soup and a bottle of water, but that's barely enough for the day. I think we should look for some food and a source of water." Peeta's proposal went over well with Johanna, who seemed a little too pleased with dropping their conversation about Cato.

"Fine. I'm all rested anyways. Let's head out now." Johanna's words were cut short after two more cannons went off in the distance.

Both Peeta and Johanna adjusted their goggles once again, the forest still as dark as ever and yet they were aware of each other's every movement as the reflector's on their shoulder pads signaled their locations. The reflecting light illuminated the other figures form as clearly as the daylight did, however the darkness that consumed the rest of the forest was a constant reminder that they were in a battle for their lives right now, and there was no time for child's play.

As Peeta approached the end of the tree line, the force field surrounding the arena came into view. Its electromagnetic structure reflected itself into the goggles, revealing that the entire arena was made out like a square.

"Looks like we reached the end on this side, how about we check over there in the shrubbery for some food?" Peeta suggested. Any berries or small creatures would be perfect to settle their growling stomachs. The rumble wasn't strong, but it pierced the two tributes strongly. It had been hours since their last meal, having eaten an early breakfast before the shuttle to the arena, and now it was surely the evening.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were ordering me around," Johanna said, to which Peeta smiled, hoping that she was not offended by his constant suggestions.

After searching the grounds and having no luck and finding only a couple of strawberries, Peeta decided that they would find a place to camp for the night. Johanna quickly nodded in agreement. Both tributes had walked along one whole side of the arena; only running into a couple tributes that rushed off quickly when they realized that it was two against one.

"I think we should rest here. We have a pretty good view so it'd be hard for anyone to sneak up on us if one of us keeps watch for the night," Peeta began before offering that he would keep the first watch.

As he watched Johanna settle in and remove her goggles from her face, he began to think about how he was going to find Katniss and Cato. _They must be on the northern side of the arena…they came from the northern end of the cornucopia and when they got their supplies they ran back…_Peeta decided that he'd have to mention it to Johanna when it was her watch.

His watch came and went quite quickly, time passing fast as he thought about his night on the rooftop with Cato, their first kiss, and his strong arms that held him when he most needed to be sheltered from the cruelty of the games. He watched as the anthem played in the sky before the faces of 13 tributes flashed across the force field. Peeta was relieved when both Katniss and Cato's faces did not appear, thankful that they had made it through the day and were safe for now.

When Johanna woke up to take the second watch, Peeta took off his goggles so that they would not cut into his skin while he slept, and used the supply bag as a pillow for his head. The night breeze was very cold, so Peeta bundled himself into a small form to preserve his heat. Peeta thrashed back and forth throughout the night, nightmares and the bitter cold air taking its toll on him for most of the night. His longing for Cato didn't help either, and he was left feeling cold and empty. He was thankful to have Johanna with him, who had scooted closer to him throughout her watch to shelter the boy from the cold breeze that wrecked itself upon his jacket.

Peeta awoke the next morning having hardly slept most of the night, and joined Johanna who was eagerly packing their supplies and nibbling on a strawberry. It was hard to keep track of the time in the arena, but the gamemakers prepared for this by initiating that a gong would go off every morning, which allowed for the tributes to fight back without being killed during their sleep. Peeta scoffed in distaste at the realization, knowing full well that the Capitol citizens were bloodthirsty monsters and wanted a good show.

"Ready?" Johanna asked, taking a peak behind at Peeta. He was surprised by how well she looked in her black gear this morning.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Peeta replied, a smile crossing Johanna's face as he spoke the words.

"Is that a smile from the infamous Johanna Mason?" Peeta added, nudging her with his elbow and a growing laughter rumbling in his chest.

"Cut it out, Peeta," Johanna replied, "I've got an axe and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Calm down, calm down." Peeta laughed at the way Johanna could go from such morning bliss to undeniably edgy in such a short span of time. He guessed that it was because she was lonely and hurt by what the Capitol had done to her family. Peeta recalled the night before on their hunt that Johanna had made no attempt to talk about her life back in District 7, mentioning only that it was "tiresome and boring." Her family had been killed when they attempted to rebel against the Capitol, leaving Johanna as the only remaining member of her family.

"Hey Johanna, you're not half bad you know," Peeta mentioned, attempting a smile to tell the girl that he was speaking out of pure honesty.

"Same goes for you, Twelve" Johanna said, turning to Peeta with a grin on her face which was hastily replaced by one of complete fear. "Peeta, get down!" she screamed, pulling her axe from the side of her belt.

Peeta hit the ground with a thud before the clashing of metal on metal could even begin. Johanna grunted as she swung her axe back-and-forth which collided with the steel blade of the other tribute. Peeta noticed that it was a male tribute from District 10. More grunts pushed their way out from Johanna's throat as the male swung at her. Losing her footing, Johanna felt to the ground, looking up to see the blade swinging down at her.

Peeta recognized the male tributes stance, as he stood before Johanna ready to sink his blade through her chest. Before the blade could come into contact with Johanna's skin, Peeta swiftly grabbed his steel throwing-knives and with a flick of his wrists and a low scream edging its way from his lungs, two of Peeta's knives sank themselves into the District 10 tributes' chest. Peeta looked up into the boy's eyes as he then registered what had just happened, and dropping his blade to the ground, sunk into the grass with a powerful thud just as the boom of the cannon rang out.

Peeta was immobilized by what had just happened. One second he and Johanna were laughing and joking, and the next he was about to witness one of his only friends become another member of the dead in the arena. As Peeta stood there, a warm embrace from Johanna came to surround him. Her arms were small and just barely connected as she whispered her thanks to him. As she pulled back from him Peeta attempted to say "you're welcome" but nothing seemed suitable for what he had just done. So instead he gave her a nod, and with that the tributes pressed on further through the trees.

"So you want us to head north right?" Johanna asked after a long moments of silence.

"Uhm, yeah. I think that's best. We have to meet up with the others if we have any chance of surviving against the career pack," Peeta replied.

Several cannons sounded in the distance as Peeta and Johanna trudged on. The sound pierced their silence like a knife, _a means of conversation at least_, Peeta thought.

"I wonder how many that makes since the bloodbath at the cornucopia. There were a few during the night too," Peeta said simply, not taking a second glance back at Johanna.

"Yeah, there were two when you were asleep too," Johanna added, before stopping briefly and calling out to Peeta to come back. "In those shrubs there, I think I seen something move."

"Alright, let's go check it out, it could be a food source," Peeta replied. He watched as Johanna walked to the other side where he assumed another line of trees began, and both began to encircle the target. As they neared the bush, Peeta drew a small rigid knife from his jacket and tossed it toward the sound of snapping branches. Peeta waited for a cannon that never went off. Instead, almost immediately after the knife sank into its victim, Johanna called out, "Peeta! It's a rabbit!"

Together the two tributes skinned the rabbit and made sure that the creature had not been poisoned, a cruel tactic used by the gamemakers in a couple of games. Peeta recalled last year's games when a poor young girl from District 8 had taken a bite out of a snow hare that had been poisoned. Unfortunately the poison could not be cured in time by any sponsors and she later died. The games before that included another female tribute that had approached a bird that turned out to be a mutt with a screech that pierced the eardrums of anyone within a few yards. Needless to say, she could no longer hear and was killed the same day.

"We better get moving if we want to join with the others," Peeta said, eagerly awaiting his reunion with Cato.

"Alright," Johanna replied. _She wasn't in much of a mood for conversation today_, Peeta guessed.

The darkness had taken its toll on Peeta in the last day and a half. Both he and Johanna had suffered countless bruises from walking blind and stumbling during their treks through the woodlands. Both tributes had trouble finding a source of food and water, using their ears as a means listening to the sounds of birds trifling through the trees and a distant sound of a river. The sound of white water fumbling up against what must have been rocks in the distance carried the two tributes on, having not drank anything other than Johanna's small water bottle – _hardly enough for two_, Peeta recollected.

Peeta and Johanna continued on their journey north toward the sound of fresh water and to find Katniss and Cato, who seemed an eternity away. They made their way in a fast pace, only slowing for the boom of a cannon or to pick berries on their way. Johanna was exceptionally good at distinguishing the proper berries that could be digested. _I should have spent more time in the plant identification section,_ he thought aloud, not realizing that his thoughts were being vocalized.

Their goggles picked up on the water before they did, the rushing streams bouncing off the sharp grey rocks, creating a series of reactions that reflected along the waters surface. The flowing water was then picked up by the goggles worn by the tributes, so thankfully Johanna and Peeta could distinguish what their surroundings were.

Johanna was the first to throw herself into the water, emitting a small laugh from Peeta as she danced her way across the water. She was a good swimmer for someone from District 7, but yet again all the tributes were required to train in water during the training sessions.

Peeta quickly jumped in after her, thankful that the cold water soothed his bruising muscles. "Ah…this feels amazing," Peeta started, before Johanna sent a splash in his direction.

"What was that for?" Peeta cried out, sending a small wave right back at her.

"Lighten up. We're fighting for our lives here, we might as well have some fun while we're at it," Johanna replied. _I guess she had a point_, Peeta told himself.

"I'm dying of thirst," Johanna said before gulping a large amount of water from the river. "It's so refreshing," she said between sips. Peeta was about to take a drink when he noticed that Johanna's laughter had died out.

"Johanna?" Peeta asked, looking at the District 7 tribute as she stared at him with wide-eyes. It wasn't until she began sinking that Peeta realized the situation. "Johanna! Johanna!" Peeta screamed, swimming over to support her.

"Peeta, I can't move!" Johanna screamed between gritted teeth, her fear spread out all over her face, which had been the only part of her body unaffected.

"I know, Johanna, it must be a toxin in the water that causes temporary paralysis in whoever drinks it! The gamemakers wanted us to drink the water, Johanna. I'm so sorry," Peeta finished, as he pulled Johanna's seemingly lifeless body from the cold water.

"Peeta, please don't leave me," Johanna pleaded.

"I would never leave you—" Peeta said, but his words were cut short as half of the career pack appeared at the waters edge. Peeta watched as Marvel, Glimmer, Clove and Finnick stumbled into the water, not having caught sight of Peeta and his injured ally yet.

"Stay down!" Peeta told her.

"Funny…" Johanna snickered.

Peeta had to think a minute before he could devise a plan that could distract the Career Pack long enough to get Johanna and himself to safety. _I hope this works_, Peeta whispered aloud. It was pretty simple, and if he understood the Careers well enough they would find his plan irresistable. Searching the shore for any loose rocks, Peeta grabbed hold of a couple soft stones that could be easily wrenched from the woodland shore.

_Countless days of throwing flour might come in handy_, Peeta chuckled to himself until he composed himself long enough to focus on saving Johanna's life. The water already distracted the Careers, washing themselves of the blood that stuck to their skin from their countless victims. Grabbing a single stone at a time, Peeta tossed them toward the southern shore, where the Careers were standing downstream. Glimmer was the first to notice the leaves on the other side of the woodland rustling. She called out to the others who quickly followed her to check out the disturbance. Cries of glee came from the mouth of Clove, whom Peeta already had a small run-in with. He made a mental note to steer clear of that tribute as best he could.

Peeta had a short amount of time between the time it would take the Careers to notice that something was amiss and the time it would take for him to carry Johanna back into the defenses of the thick woodland. Propping her up on his shoulders and grabbing hold of her thighs, Peeta walked as fast as he could manage, until he was free of the danger that presented itself in the open area near the rapids.

He had carried Johanna for as far as he possibly could before his muscles gave out on him and they were required to stop and rest. Johanna had not recovered in the slightest in the past hour or two, and Peeta was beginning to process the idea that the paralysis might last longer than a few hours.

As the anthem began to play in the night sky, Peeta counted the tributes whose faces appeared one-by-one. Faces of children, young kids whose lives were cut short too soon. He dropped his head in shame when he saw the female tribute from District 12. _She was too innocent_…_too gentle_…Peeta thought, heartbroken that he was unable to reach her in time. The games were really taking a toll on him, but he couldn't allow himself to breakdown. Johanna needed him.

Peeta counted 10 more tributes whose added total to the already deceased meant that 23 of the 48 tributes had been killed. That left 23 more tributes to be killed before the victors could be crowned. Looking down at Johanna's immobile body, he had no choice but to take watch tonight. Propping himself up against a large evergreen, Peeta attempted to hold back the tears that threatened to stream down from his burning, tired eyes.

"Oh, Cato…where are you?" Peeta whispers.

**Author's Note: So here's a little present for you guys who are anxiously awaiting for more. I had some free time tonight, and considering there probably won't be a new chapter tomorrow, I thought I'd share this new instalment. I hope you all enjoy! Thank you to every one who reviews, follows, and favourites! :)**


	6. Muttations

**Chapter 6: Muttations**

The sound of a gong rang three times throughout the arena, a sure sign that morning had arrived and that the tributes would need to be on lookout for potential run-ins with fellow tributes. It was Day 3 in the arena, Peeta remarked, and the gamemakers would want to shake things up to please the Capitol citizens.

Peeta was the first to wake, quickly adjusting his goggles onto his face. Passing a glance to his right and taking in the sight of a lengthy form bundled into a petite figure, Peeta came to realize that Johanna's paralysis must have worn off throughout the night. He watched as she lifted her head, and passing a glance behind her to be certain that Peeta was nearby, pulled her tiresome body up from its distorted form.

The sound of a chiming in the distance alerted Peeta and Johanna that their first gift had arrived from a sponsor. The silver parachute was lined with reflectors, which hung tightly to the vile that hung underneath. With a certain grace, Peeta marched over to the run down tree stump that held their gift from Haymitch. Disassembling the buckle that connected the canister from the parachute, and rushing back to Johanna who now stood rubbing her tired muscles, he began to remove the lid.

"Let's hope it's useful," Peeta said, worried that the gift before him would be an unnecessary token that would bear bad news of their missing allies. As Peeta tossed the lid aside, and removed the intricate steel object, he turned to Johanna with a questioning glare. "What the hell is this…?" he said, shaking his head in disappointment. In a perfect world the parachute would have come bearing gifts of food and water – each tribute not having much of either since they arrived in the arena. Peeta thought back to Johanna's incident near the woodland river sector, a shudder passing from the opening at the back of his neck and down through his spinal column. If it were the cold chill of the wind that wrecked havoc over the arena or simply the recollection of their potential death at the hands of the Career pack, Peeta would never know.

"Thank you, Haymitch!" Johanna shouted, before her enthusiasm dwindled when she saw the look on his face. "It's a spile. You know, typically it's used for sap from trees, but I think this is a clue," she started, her voice cutting off as she motioned toward the small slip of paper that lie on the ground where the lid of the parachute now rest.

Peeta pulled himself over to it and eagerly pulled the message from within. "It's from Haymitch, it says: 'Drink up'" Peeta spoke, finally catching on to what Johanna had been mumbling about. "Oh…" he stated, his voice faltering.

"Here, let me see it. I'll show you." Peeta hesitantly handed over the spile to Johanna who was quick to her feet, beckoning for Peeta to follow her to the closest evergreen. "Typically a spile is used on Maple Trees…but if you've noticed, the arena doesn't have any," Johanna began, before hammering the spile into a tree with a rock she had found lingering in the meadow. "Now, if you had any brains on you, you would see that this is a clue from Haymitch that the water in the arena is a façade used by the gamemakers to bring in tributes to their death."

"Makes sense," Peeta nodded as he spoke through clenched teeth. _I hope she's right_…he muttered. It wasn't long before an outpour of water began to drip from the spile followed by an animalistic growl and a gurgling sound from Johanna's throat.

"Thirsty?" Peeta teased. An embarrassed Johanna fixated her eyes on Peeta until the two burst out in laughter thinking how desperate they must have looked in the moment. Johanna gestured for Peeta to take a drink, stepping back a few feet as he leaned in to drink from the spout.

"You thought I looked thirsty," Johanna teased after which she began rolling her eyes and continued with a comment about their misfortunes. "Who would have thought that we'd end up in this position? Basically starving ourselves...I've definitely lost at least ten pounds," she stated, and typical of Johanna she then thrusted her hips and took a provocative stance.

"Let's go, we better get moving before the other tributes find us first," Peeta indicated. Johanna decided that it'd be better for them to leave their supply bag as it only added more weight. She had already strapped on the gloves that she had found on the first day, and after consuming the soup and water that they had received the evening of the first night, not much was left but added weight. She slipped the spile into her jacket pocket, and with the sound of a zipper closing, and a smile sent in Peeta's direction, she began to close the distance between them. At first Peeta thought that she was about to kiss him, before her hand took hold of his and the two tributes began their journey north.

* * *

The woodland began to dissipate as Peeta and Johanna made their way toward the northern force field, which shone brightly in the dark sky above them. It had only been a few hours since the gamemakers had woken up the two tributes, and they had made excellent progress with what little time they had in the morning hours.

Their silence was cut short when Johanna began asking Peeta questions about his life back in District 12, the bakery and his feelings toward Cato. Peeta reminded himself that he had to win over Johanna's trust with Cato, so he began to tell her about the first time he met the blonde boy.

"I wouldn't say we had the best of meetings," Peeta chuckled as Johanna listened to him attentively, watching that they were on the right track. "We met at the training centre, and we had a little bit of a run in. He was a little cocky and he threatened to kill me…" Peeta's voice trailed off when he seen Johanna's gawking eyes staring back at him.

"And that's the same romantic, mysterious Cato that you've been telling me about the last few days?" she asked.

"We got closer every day. We'd run into each other in the elevator, or he'd ask me to help him with his hand-to-hand combat, and then we'd meet on the rooftop of the Tribute Hotel," Peeta recollected, his mind wandering back to the first time he seen the blonde outside of his training uniform. _He looked good in a uniform, but the way his regular clothes fit to his body was electric_, Peeta reminisced. "Anyways, he's not what he puts himself out to be, Johanna. He's strong, guarded, and a little bit on the rebellious side, but he's also sweet…and funny…and he's good to me," Peeta spoke quietly. He longed to be reunited with the boy he had known for so little, but had grown to care for so much.

"He makes up for everything I lack, really. He keeps me grounded," he ended, wiping a tear from his eye. _Was he really crying over this_, he thought.

"Love is weird…but I think I understand a little bit better now." Johanna smiled at the other boy as she spoke, and then she began to feel the pain that struck her every time she thought of the sensation of love. "I don't think I could ever bring myself to love anyone after what the Capitol did to my family…" she said in a genuineness that struck Peeta with regret.

"You'll find someone," Peeta said, but it didn't present itself in the way Peeta had hoped it would.

"That's enough. Your sappiness is killing me," she said, more serious that Peeta had encountered in a while. He could see that she was hurting and discussing Peeta's relationship with Cato wasn't helping her feeling any better.

Their conversation was cut short when Peeta heard a frantic rustling in the bushes in front of their position. His night goggles were the first to react to the silver reflectors on the shoulder pads of two tributes who were headed directly toward them. Peeta decided that he could either hide or stand and fight the tributes. _It was a fair fight after all_, he supposed.

Passing a glance back at Johanna, who slowly began pulling her axe from her side in understanding, he started to draw two knives from his jacket pocket.

The two targets broke through the ferns into the clearing, their faces wide with fear and goggles fixated on the path before them, before screaming at Peeta and Johanna to run. Peeta thought he felt his jacket tug from the male tribute, before he released his grasp on his knives in his pocket and started to run after them. He took a glance back before registering three slim-lined shadows that crept after them, hard on their trail.

"What are they?" Johanna exclaimed, her body barreling after the other two tributes. Peeta was the last of the tributes that were making their way to the east, a few feet behind Johanna and countless metres behind the other two tributes. Their reflectors barely registered in Peeta's goggles at such a distance and yet he was positive that he knew which members of the tributes they were.

"Muttations!" Peeta heard the female tribute call behind her, as she and her partner darted left. As Peeta reared the corner of the tree line that the male and female tributes ahead of them had passed, he stumbled over a protruding rock that he had not seen until the very last moment. He started to pull himself up, desperately gripping the bark of the evergreen beside him, unable to catch his footing when Johanna's scream rang out in his direction.

Peeta braced himself for impact, letting his body go limp and accepting that these would be his final moments. He could not escape what was about to come to him. There were no strong arms that could protect him from the tearing of flesh that would be associated with the shadowed figures.

He was astonished when just as he felt the hot, rancid breath of the muttation on the back of his neck, a whizzing sound cut through the air, passing Peeta's face by centimeters; the yelp of the mutt was quick and agonizing before the beast fell to the ground with a thud that shook Peeta's surroundings. _It was now or never_, Peeta said to himself. With that he turned around and taking his final two knives from his jacket, launched them into the air striking one of the shadows dead in its tracks.

Peeta launched himself to his feet and ran for his life, passing Johanna who stood open-mouthed and joined the other two tributes.

"Thank you," Peeta said between deep breaths.

"Thank me later," the blonde started, "we still have one more to worry about!" She was slender and from what Peeta could see from the reflection of her goggles to his, she had long and thick blonde hair that rose to a bow above her head.

"Good point," the other male replied. "Let's get out of here. We should be close to the most north-eastern point of the arena." Peeta was struck by his deep voice first, but did not have time to admire any of his features before they were on their feet and running again. What seemed like minutes had only been seconds in time, and the final muttation was hard on their tails – _most likely aggravated by the death of its littermates_, Peeta noted.

Johanna flashed him a look of concern as they rummaged through the woodland ferns and bushes, alert to any tributes that may have been informed of their locations. He was not sure if they could trust the other two tributes, who had stayed relatively to themselves throughout training, but who were lethal in combat if he remembered well. Haymitch had warned his tributes, including Peeta, about these two; if Peeta remembered correctly, Haymitch said that they were "great allies, terrible troublemakers." If he and Johanna branched off to escape their potential fate, he could not guarantee that the muttation wouldn't follow them – _they were closer targets_, he reminded himself.

Peeta could feel the muttation gradually closing in the distance between them and he was unsure if he was imagining the claws raking behind him with each bound by the mutt, or if they were truly close to sinking themselves into his back.

He watched as Johanna stopped and turned back toward the mutt and listened as a bloodcurdling scream escaped from her lungs as she threw her axe into the beast; the sound of ripping flesh piercing his ears and embedding itself into his memory.

Peeta observed as Johanna walked over to the mutt and ripped her axe from somewhere along its surface. She pulled the axe out with a hard tug that resulted in an explosion of blood, which then sprayed itself out across her jacket. With a sigh and heavy shoulders she made her way back to Peeta.

"The axe sank right through its collarbone. Must have pierced an artery. The thing bled out before it would have had a chance to recover," Johanna revealed, watching his eyes widen when she did not bat an eye at what had just happened; and went off to join the other tributes. Peeta followed shortly behind, eyeing Johanna's axe as they closed the distance between them and the others.

"Stupid Gamemakers. We were hardly awake before three muttations appeared outside the cave we were resting in. We had no choice but to make a run for it, or else we would have been a meal for the hounds," the male said, shaking his head in rage.

"Calm down, Gloss" the girl responded, "at least we made it out alive."

"The gamemakers must have wanted more action. As you two have probably noticed," Gloss began, gesturing to Peeta and Johanna, "there haven't been any deaths since last night."

The female tribute shook her head as she squinted her eyes to take in the sights of Peeta and Johanna, who were currently resting on a tree listening to the pair argue. "We're being rude, Gloss," she stated. "We're thankful we found you two when we did. I'm –"

Peeta cut her off before she could introduce herself to Johanna and himself. "Cashmere, District 1," he said, smirking.

"The one and only," she chuckled. She turned her eye to her brother, Gloss, and nodded for him to join them over by the thick evergreens. "Haymitch told us you were looking for allies in the arena…" she trailed off as Peeta glared at her with uninterested eyes.

"Really, now? And how do we know we can trust your word? You're Careers after all," Johanna retorted. Her reply encompassed what Peeta was trying to say, but his would have lacked the coldness present in her tone.

"For starters," Cashmere replied, her tone sharp, "if we had wanted to kill you then we would have left you to the mutts. Secondly, Haymitch told us that you had a previous alliance, but expected that you would need more than a select few allies if you two were going to get anywhere in these games…" she said matter-of-factly.

"What entitles you or Haymitch to make that judgment?" Peeta said, before Cashmere could list another reason why he and Johanna should allow them to live any longer.

"I mean just look at you two…You're unarmed and Johanna looks like she's going to keel over any minute," Gloss remarked. Peeta shot a glance back at Johanna who was leaning her arm against a tree for support, and shook her head with a sense of unfortunate agreement with the other boy.

"He told us that there were supposedly two others…Katniss and someone else?" Cashmere said, looking back toward Gloss for help.

"That district 2 blonde with the temper," Gloss replied, a low chuckle escaping as he shook his head in disagreement.

"God, what's wrong with Cato? Jeez," Peeta exclaimed as he lifted his arms into the air representing his frustration.

"Cato! That's it!" Cashmere exclaimed, _a little too prideful in her ability to pick out a simple statement_, Peeta thought.

The sound of three cannons shot off in the distance, toward the western point of the arena. Peeta's expression turned to one of terror and he felt his knees begin to buckle. _Please let Cato be safe_…he whispered aloud.

"It's roughly past noon, we better get a move on if we're going to find that boy toy of yours," Cashmere boasted, a twinkle in her eye and a smile forming on the creases of her lips.

"Wait, how did –" Peeta started in protest.

"Why else would you be looking for him, lover boy" Gloss pointed out, to which he received an annoyed glare from his sister, which made him shrug his shoulders and continue to gather his supplies in silence.

Peeta blushed at the realization that Gloss and Cashmere were aware of his growing fondness of the tall blonde, who he had not seen for two days since the morning of the launch. Peeta jumped when a reassuring hand rested itself on his shoulder, and to his surprise found that Johanna had pulled herself over to him.

"If they were lying, do you really think we'd be standing here?" Johanna inquired. It made sense when Peeta thought it over; they were experienced killers after all. Yet somehow Peeta could not shake the overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.

"'Deception is as much as killer as brute force,'" Peeta reiterated.

"Where did you hear that expression?" Johanna replied, a smug look on her face with brows furrowed in confusion.

"Haymitch. He warned me to watch who I trust in the games. If you think we can trust them, then I believe they can lead us to Katniss and Cato with better luck that we could have on our own. Besides, I've run out of knives," Peeta responded.

"Exactly. We could use them," Johanna added, receiving an approving nod from Peeta, who watched as the District 1 tributes finished packing their supplies and were issuing for the others to join them.

Johanna was the first to join Gloss and Cashmere, Peeta once again following behind the pack, wary of anything that could go unnoticed. He was certainly not going to let his guard down around the Careers. _Why were they not with Marvel and the others_, Peeta examined.

They began at a steady pace - not straining themselves too hard - as Gloss sliced through the thick greenery that overshadowed them. The terrain was changing and even Peeta was aware of this: it had become more groggy, thicker, and less reliable for walking in. Swarms of insects would pass by the tributes while they walked, completely harmless, but causing shrieks every now and again from Cashmere who relentlessly batted at them.

The sound of chiming caught Peeta's attention before the other tributes, which continued to follow behind Gloss in a single file. He called out to the others to hold on while he went to investigate the chime that echoed the sound of a silver parachute. It was not long before Peeta caught sight of the parachute hanging from a large branch. _It must have got caught on its way down_, he noted.

"Hey, Gloss!" he called out to the stronger tribute. Peeta noticed the broad shouldered male had stopped and turned around when his reflectors motioned the movement.

"Yeah, what's up?" he responded, before his eyes could catch glimpse of the parachute that hung just out of Peeta's reach. "I can give you a boost, but no funny business," he said, chuckling at his own humor. Peeta shook his head and placed a foot into Gloss' clenched hands. It was enough to close the gap between the dangling parachute and Peeta's outstretched hand. Peeta quickly started to unknot the rope as to take only the canister, which contained a valuable gift from the sponsors.

Peeta opened the canister when he was set down by Gloss, allowing for the other tributes to gather around and observe what Haymitch had sent for his tribute.

"Ah! Some warm bread!" Peeta called out, snapping the bun in half and breathing in the warm scent of freshly cooked dough. Memories of the bakery flooded back into his memory, and thoughts of the many desserts made Peeta squirm in delight.

"There's enough here for the four of us," Johanna said. Tossing some bread to Gloss and Cashmere was a big step, but it proved to Peeta that her trust in the two District 1 tributes was strong.

Shouts of delight came from Cashmere first, followed soon after by Gloss who managed to smile at Peeta. _I think he thinks that I like him_…Peeta said, embarrassed that he had even thought of it. He had his heart set on Cato, and nobody could take that away from him.

"What does the note say?" Johanna asked, shaking Peeta from his thoughts of Gloss and Cato and the warm scent of heated bread.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" Peeta said, rising to his feet and walking over to where the run-down canister now lay. The tributes had become overly excited when they first laid eyes on the bread that they had managed to disfigure the jar.

Peeta pulled out a white paper, which glowed under his goggles, which had a distinctive "H.A." at the end of a small message, which stood for 'Haymitch Abernathy'. He nearly squealed when he seen what the message read, and sent a silent "thank you," to the open night sky, hoping Haymitch could see his appreciation.

"We're on the right track guys. It says, 'Keep moving. You're almost there.'"

* * *

The tributes spent most of the afternoon indulging in the bread they had so graciously received from Haymitch, and had mentioned little things about themselves so as better to know one another as they trudged further on.

Peeta recalled Cashmere mentioning that she had always aspired to become a stylist. This sort of job was something that District 12 would never be able to appreciate, and Peeta had known from the day he first started working in the bakery that he would work there for the remainder of his life. It was the sad truth that was understood by all of the citizens of his district that forced families to suffer under great poverty.

When nightfall approached, Peeta and the rest of the tributes made their way further into the thick foliage that led to where he would hope to rendezvous with Cato and Katniss. He noticed that Gloss did not have to use his knife to tear away at long ferns that blocked the path anymore, because most had already been destroyed. Peeta took this as a good sign that a tribute or two had passed through this way and he hoped that it was Katniss and Cato.

Peeta followed closely behind Gloss now, which left Cashmere and Johanna who were whispering small comments back and forth to one another. Peeta thought he would take this time to make small talk with Gloss, who had seemed to rub him the wrong way earlier.

"So…" Peeta began, not quite sure what conversation to start with the broad-shouldered male before him. "You're pretty good with knives, I see. I saw you in the training centre. I swear you hit the target in a vital spot every time!" Peeta exclaimed, hoping that his excitement would get the other boy to speak up a little. If Peeta was going to put this much effort into their relationship as allies, then he expected as much from the other boy.

There was a small huff from Gloss as he replied without turning his head back once to look at Peeta: "Yeah, I guess I'm alright…"

"More than alright, I'd say!" Peeta said, unsure as to why he kept complimenting the other boy. He guessed that Gloss would be used to people gloating over him.

"I've got a wicked backhand, I'll say that much," Gloss started. "My sister, Cashmere, has been training for as long as I can remember, right Cash?"

Peeta kept walking slowly, laughter filling him from the relationship Gloss and his sister had. They were either praising each other, or at each other's throats. It had been several seconds, without reply, before Peeta turned back to see why Cashmere had not responded. Looking back he could see that both girls had stopped numerous metres from them. Their jacket arms shook, as their arms seemed to be waving them back. Peeta gestured at Gloss, who had stopped to see why his sister had not responded either.

Just as Peeta and Gloss started to double back, it began. It started as a low pitched squawking sound, which eventually erupted into a screech that came from the foliage; he began to be thwarted by innumerable flying creatures. As both boys fell to the ground, the smell of blood filled Peeta's nostrils, and a warm substance began to flow from either ear.

**Author's Note: I surprise myself sometimes – worked on this all night for you guys. Here's the next chapter! Don't worry; Cato's coming soon (hallelujah!).**


	7. Lethal Distractions

**Chapter 7: Lethal Distractions**

I came too from the nightmare that wretched itself upon Gloss and myself, for the greater part of an hour, only to find greater horror waiting for us. A new chapter of suffering that would defy each and every realization of our impending death. With each new twist in the arena, Peeta would come to realize that the gamemakers had only begun to make the tributes suffer. How much more could they torment me, before the madness would take its toll, I thought.

When I finally came to my senses, I lay there, ears pulsing in agony, watching as Gloss managed to pull himself from the ground into a sitting position. I felt disoriented from the ringing that hacked itself throughout my head, my mind jumbling into an assault of memory fragments.

I was first brought from my subconscious when a warm hand pressed itself against my cheek. Passing a glance upward, I could see that Johanna had made her way over to me, and was staring down with worried eyes, her head hung low in what mimicked shame.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta, if I wasn't so preoccupied with talking to Cashmere then I could have been there for you," she said solemnly, as she bent down to level herself with my troubled figure.

"Don't worry, I'm f-fine" I responded, the sound of her voice like that of gunfire to my hemorrhaging ears. I noticed how low my voice was and Johanna's expression caught on to the pain that filtered its way through my cracked lips. I recalled that I had bitten down on them when the screeching commenced, and now they were peeling from their worn out skirmish.

"Are you alright to stand?" Johanna asked. I was aware that her voice was somber, almost painful. _It wasn't her fault_, I thought, but no words would be able to replace the manifestation of guilt in her eyes.

"I think so," was all that Peeta could mutter, before Johanna looped her hand through his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Three dead yesterday. A small number considering it's already been a few days. The boy from District 10…" Johanna said, but he did not care to hear about any more unnecessary casualties. "On the bright side…" she started.

"Don't. There is no bright side to all of this, Johanna. People," Peeta began correcting himself, "innocent people, are dying. There's no celebrating this," he reasoned. He motioned his hand toward the arena surrounding them. I didn't mean for my voice to came across as anything other than truthful, but my tone had offended Johanna, who retreated her hand from my arm and began to sit in silence.

For the rest of the night Cashmere and Johanna gathered berries from the vegetation and some greens that Cashmere had luckily found over near the line of bushes surrounding their camp. Refreshed by some ointment that the District 1 tributes had received from their sponsors, I worked to knead my aching joints and to clean the dried blood from my ears.

Cashmere volunteered to take the first watch, but Peeta was still wary of their intentions so he told them that he would take the first watch instead; he had too much on his mind to even begin to think about sleeping.

_The night was significantly colder_, I noted, sure that the gamemakers were reducing the temperatures throughout the night as to assail any unprepared tributes. My ribs had slowly started to protrude ever so slightly against my toned abdomen, for lack of food over the last few days in the arena. He had made sure to indulge in the Capitol's generosity of food over his time there, knowing that he would be starved during his period in the arena.

While I mulled over my options for the following day, a shuffle to my left and a small whimpering sound began to make its way over to where I sat on guard. _Johanna_, I thought, as her figure began to writhe slowly but surely. I made my way over to where she lay, and began rubbing the small of her back, calmly soothing her distress while I whispered, "it was only a dream." She glanced up toward me once or twice throughout the night, to make sure that I was nearby, and her surprise grew with every glance. I had taken up grounds beside where she rest for the night, keeping my eyes peeled for any disturbances while readying myself for anymore nightmares that could wretch themselves onto Johanna's unconscious.

Johanna woke up several hours after my watch began, before she signaled that she would take over, knowing that I would need my rest for the coming day. I planned to find Cato tomorrow, but made note that we would need to travel at a slower pace than usual. I had many wounds to contend with, such as sore muscles, unusually tired joints, cuts that resulted from falling during our encounter with the mutts, and eardrums that still rang from the sounds of the bat muttations.

When Peeta woke the following morning, he was the last of the tributes to rouse. The others had allowed him to sleep unusually longer so that his tired joints could heal themselves. Before long Johanna beckoned for him to join them. _We would have to get moving early, _I mumbled to myself.

My muscles ached with any and every sudden movements, and Johanna helped me to my feet before any of us had begun moving through the thick foliage. As we made our way through the hard terrain, Gloss fell back, allowing Johanna to lead the party, and joined me at my side.

"I wanted to give you these…" Gloss said, as he handed me two of his knives. Both were slightly small, refined blades with an impressively lethal row of serrations. I made sure to take the blades before Gloss could second-guess himself.

"I don't understand," Peeta said questioningly. _He knows I don't trust him_, I thought, but I made no expression that would reflect this most dire secret.

"We're a team, are we not?" Gloss said, and for the first time since he had met Peeta, he gave him a smile that held no cruel intentions masked behind it. Before I could thank him for his charity, he was off again to rejoin his sister once more.

I scanned the tree line with my goggles and watched for any pursuers as we rounded the nearest sector. The ground was still wet from what must have been a rain shower the previous day, and Peeta was sure to watch his footing as he walked single file behind the others. Gloss would call out that there was a stone or two in front of them on more than one occasion, and the four tributes would round it with a wide traction.

I took this time to look through the gape in the trees toward where the Cornucopia would have been, the tail pointing its way through the trees with a glistening of reflective steel. It protruded from the trees like that of Finnick Odair's trident and its point directed itself toward the other side of the arena where Peeta and Johanna had first camped out; the southern jungle.

"We've got company!" Gloss shouted back toward him and the other tributes, before the sound of a whizzing trident flew past them, escaping Johanna's right shoulder narrowly, before it fell to the ground with a heavy crash.

I braced myself for the onslaught of tributes that would surely crash through the thick, moss-covered vines that weaved themselves through the woods several yards ahead of them. The first male appeared and his reflectors signaled that he was weaponless. His elegant form and slim figure gave away his identity immediately. _Finnick_, I distinguished quickly.

The next tribute filed in quickly behind Finnick, a large spear hanging down from his arm as he lunged toward Johanna. She met his attack head-on with her own lunge, as steel clashes with steel. A quick howl escaped from his lungs as Johanna's axe slipped its way past his unguarded shoulder, and the sound of splitting fabric mixed with tearing flesh erupted into the clearing.

I was taken from my train of thought as a zipping sound passed by my face, opening a gash in my left cheek. The warm, sticky oozing from my cheek made its way down my face uncontrollably. The taste of the blood hit me first, as its metallic flavor pooled down over my lips, followed shortly thereafter by its bitter scent. I lurch backwards, as the next knife catches my thigh, embedding itself into my now-torn skin.

I let out a horrific yelp as I pull the knife from my punctured leg; a wicked blade with jagged teeth that split my skin open as I clenched it sturdily. I recognize the girl who had propelled the knife as Clove, from District 2, her petite figure giving her away in the reflection of my eye ware.

I staggered forward, almost loosing my footing, as I readied for Clove's next assault. Closing the distance between us, Clove pulled another set of knives from her impressive collection, throwing two in my direction. I immediately dove for the grown to avoid being hit once again and felt the mud instantly splash up into the open wound on my face. It stung as I tried to wipe it away, the mud fixating itself deeper into my injury.

I grasped the knife in my hand, which had already been splattered with blood from the gash it left in my thigh, and managed to send the knife in her general direction. The knife pierced her hip, as she then swayed from the blow. She had no time to recover from the shock before I sent the next blade. I clenched my eyes shut as I heard the gurgling sound of Clove choking through the knife that rested in her throat. I pulled my hands up to my ears to protect myself from the sound that would haunt my dreams if I did not.

Between his clenched fists that rested over his ears, Peeta heard the cannon that signaled that Clove's life had come to an end.

Managing to pull myself from the earth, my glance shifted over the where Johanna had been fighting with Brutus. He had time to make out the slender shape of a girl resting over a large male before a cannon sounded in the distance and a spray of blood soaked the surrounding ground.

I succeeded in making my way over to Johanna through the pain of my thigh and a bloodied vision from the mud over my masked goggles. Johanna gave me a quick flash of her goggles before she ran off to help Gloss who was currently fighting hand-to-hand with Finnick.

Peeta passed his glance over the clearing searching for Cashmere, whose goggles turned to meet his as a silver spear impaled itself into her abdomen.

"No!" Peeta cried out as he tried to pull himself from his position to make his way over to his female ally. He watched as the blonde-haired beauty fell to her knees before crashing backwards into the ground, the spear still resting in her body.

I was helpless but to look on as Gloss caught side of his sisters mangled form, before the realization of what had happened truly hit him. A powerful, and completely heart-wrenching scream exploded from his lungs that lodged itself into Peeta like an arrow. Even Peeta had to wipe away at the tears that stung his eyes and protruded from his goggles.

I caught sight of Marvel who had sent Cashmere to her death with a single toss of his harpoon, before a smirk came to his face along with a call for the Careers to retreat with him.

I stood powerless as Marvel and Finnick tore off through the woods, followed closely by Glimmer and Enobaria. _There must be two Career packs_, I noted as anger filled the void in my heart from Cashmere's passing.

Gloss worked his way over to Cashmere's lifeless body in a bound or two, before falling to his knees and placing a warm hand up to her cheek. Tears began to flood over his face, and I remarked that I had never seen someone cry so intensely before.

Johanna stood behind Gloss now, and Peeta could see that she was struggling over the idea of whether or not she should say something to ease his pain. She settled on nestling in beside him on the blood-soaked ground in silence, combing the hair back from Cashmere's face.

I shifted slowly toward my remaining two allies and time seemed to slow down as I watched the incontrollable sobs shudder across Gloss' body. The guttural sound of heaving between breaths was no more as Gloss' voice betrayed him.

I placed myself across from Gloss and watched as he whispered words of reassurance to his sister: "it would be okay now," "you won't suffer anymore," and an immeasurable amount of apologies for not being with her when she needed him most.

"We'll make them pay for it, Gloss. I promise you. If it's the last thing I do in this arena…we'll make them pay," Peeta whispered through clenched teeth, his hand rising to stroke the other boy's back.

Peeta was taken at first when the other boy turned from the mangled body of his once gorgeous sister to wrap his arms around him. He was a lot stronger than Cato, and his grasp seemed to take all the air from Peeta's lungs away from him. Slowly, but surely, Gloss whispered through cracked vocals: "Together."

"Together," I assured him.

* * *

Peeta led the expedition this time, as Johanna walked steadily beside him and a silent Gloss followed far behind as he kicked at rocks in rage.

"They did everything together, you know," Johanna whispered, breaking the silence for the first time since they began on foot.

"It's hard to see him like this…" Peeta said, recalling how he had turned away when Johanna drew the spear from Cashmere's body. Peeta had fetched some flowers that grew nearby and placed them in her hair as Gloss zipped up her jacket to keep her body warm. They had stayed there for almost an hour before they had to keep moving and a hovercraft retrieved the body. A tributes greatest mistake in the arena is to stay in one place.

"Even I'll admit that I can't wait to sink my axe into that bastards face," Johanna said, pulling him from his thoughts. She had a way with words, this one, but he knew that revenge was best served cold.

"I hope he's the one to do it," I whispered in reply. He thought back to when they first began hiking through the thick jungle and Johanna had given the spear to Gloss. He watched as Gloss took the spear with an embodiment of anger. He was not upset with Johanna, more than he was with himself for letting his guard down. By giving Gloss the spear, Johanna acknowledged that he would be the one to enact his revenge on his sister's behalf.

All three tributes marched on in silence after that, as Peeta hacked away at the vines that hung down all around them.

"It's getting pretty thick," Peeta said, passing a glance back at the other two who nodded in understanding.

"Maybe we should rest here for now, before we move on," Gloss stated, which surprised Peeta the most. He was sure that Gloss would want to track down the Careers, but nodded back that this clearing would do perfectly. _It was fairly muddy_, he thought, but it would be enough to keep them free of the forest that had caused them so much heartache.

"Thank God!" Johanna said, before she unstrapped her gloves and tossed them to the muddy floor. "We've made a lot of progress today, and we're basically at the most northern point, so Katniss and Cato should be close if Haymitch was right," she added.

My heart sprung at the idea of being reunited with Cato and my best friend, Katniss. Although it had only been a few short days, it had felt like an eternity. Every single day was a new chapter of terror that threatened to take away everyone he cared most about. I looked to the open sky and admired the twinkling stars that were the only light that shone throughout the arena, with the moon at its centre.

Exhaustion is starting to take its toll on me, but it's not the typical drowsiness that pressures me to rest my burning muscles at every stop. It's the impending heartache and the only cure for it is finding Cato.

* * *

I watched the tree line around us shimmering, the cold wind shuffling against the leaves. I took in the sight of walnuts that hung higher in the trees – _the only edible ones_, I remind myself. As I stare at the treetops I find that they are beginning to grow. But it wasn't the trees themselves that were growing taller and taller with each moment, but myself that was shrinking. That is when I found the answer: I was sinking! _Not again_, I think to myself, before turning to the others.

"Gloss! Johanna! It's not mud, it's a form of quicksand!" I call, but it's too late. Both tributes have already begun to sink and I find myself in the same vulnerable position.

I watch as Johanna's gloves vanish under the muddy terrain, and a flicker of irritation passes over her face.

I turn my gaze back to the forest floor before me, where I had just cut with a knife before Gloss stated that we should rest in the clearing. Attached to a tree was a vine that hung loosely under the treetop. _Better make this count_, I think, before I throw my last remaining knife overhead and the sound of the vine snapping alerted to me that I was successful.

The vine made its way from the tree onto the ground, inches from Peeta, as he tossed his arm over to it, clenching his fist over the mossy rope.

"Johanna, take my hand!" Peeta hollered, as Gloss did the same. The vines here were incredibly sturdy, which thankfully allowed the tributes to pull themselves to freedom. Peeta was the first of the tributes to make it to safe ground before Johanna and Gloss had done the same. All three of the competitors were panting from exhaustion, and Peeta was sure that he had pulled another muscle in his shoulder from the extensive force needed to pull the other tributes to safety alongside him.

"Looks like this year they didn't waste any money on the arena," Gloss said sarcastically, before shaking his head and spitting on the ground in front of him.

_That's disgusting_, I mumbled under my breath. The miners in District 12 had a habit of spitting in the streets after their long shifts in the coalmines. _Being away from most civilization on a daily basis had its repercussions_.

I was going to talk to Johanna about our weapon supply, but figured that since I had been dying of thirst I would take the spile from Johanna and head over to the nearest tree for some much needed refreshment. She handed me the small silver apparatus before I made my way slowly, being careful to stick to the jungle tree line to avoid the sinking pits of mud. I found a large tree with a huge radius of bark and began digging the spile into it.

The smell hit me first – taking me back to the gouge that had only recently begun to scab over – before the spile started to pour out thick doses of blood. Gagging was the first of many effects that inflicted my body, as I looked up to find a tribute's distorted body hanging from the clutches of the tree.

As I pulled the spile from the tree more blood poured out, and Johanna and Gloss were quick to their feet to help me from my immobility. The shock was the hardest to deal with, before Johanna could calm me down.

"I just want to get out of here," Peeta said, uneven breaths catching between each syllable. It was hard to shake the image of the poor tribute that had been a victim of another nasty plot that the gamemakers had issued for the games.

It took a while to bring myself from my lethargy and tremors as we continued to move. Gloss had come up with the idea of walking through the open clearing that surrounded the Cornucopia for miles, so as to avoid any more lethal tricks that the gamemakers could conjure. _If they were to run into any tributes, it would be three against one, unless of course the Careers had found them again_, Peeta thought.

Johanna silenced Peeta as they made their way through to the northern jungle. He noticed that this side of the arena was a completely different environment compared to the southern side – the tree line thinner, more birds chirping in the distance, and an inescapable smell of fresh lilies. _It was more peaceful in the arena here_, Peeta noted, _which meant that it would be more lethal_.

It began as it always had, in a moments notice, and at a time where he was in an extensive train of thought: a huge explosion in the distance. _Definitely man-made_, he assumed.

As they picked up the pace and Peeta grimaced through the pain of his injured leg, he rounded the corner to meet the gaze of two tributes who were pulling themselves from the ground, eyes wide with fear. _Something was wrong_.

But before he could even consider it, Peeta was on his feet, barreling toward them. He recognized the distinct height of both tributes, and the females' slender form that currently grappled with a bow that had distanced itself during the explosion.

"Cato!" Peeta exclaimed, as he began running for the other boy, whose goggles turned to meet him a couple of metres away.

"Peeta?" the other boy called out questioningly, his face contorting into a huge smile as he realized the other boy's identity.

The last thing I remember is the look of terror that crossed Cato's face as an arrow lodged itself into his ribcage, and then everything went black.

**Author's Note: Prepare yourselves. Things are going to get a little crazy (if they aren't already!). Enjoy :)**


	8. The Calm before the Storm

**Chapter 8: The Calm before the Storm**

I watched as Johanna's axe implanted itself into the male tribute from District 11 and cannon fire echoed out across the plains. By the time the other tribute fell to the mud-covered floor, I had reached Cato's side. The blow from the arrow was enough to knock him to the ground, and he now lie contorted with his bloody hands gripping the projectile woven through his ribcage. The grass was covered with blood that had splayed out from his side during the initial infliction. I noticed that Cato had removed his goggles, which currently rested in the small pool of scarlet blood to his side, and his eyes were scoured with pain.

My mind races back to the moment when the arrow first struck him, as I watched the pain set into his eyes and the muscles in his legs give out. From somewhere deep down in my lungs, a scream erupted as I shouted his name, fearing I would lose the only boy I had cared for. His whole mass fell to the ground in a simple stagger as he attempted to withstand the knockback. I reached his side almost instantaneously and strung my fingers through his own. I could see the loss of blood taking its toll on the blonde, as I now rest at his side.

"Cato, it's going to be okay, just look at me," I managed, my voice breaking under the strain of tears that threatened to explode within me at any moment. His head turned to mine as I took in the sight of his gorgeous blue eyes, only inches from my goggles. I had not seen much color in the arena thus far and was relieved to see the cobalt blue irises that were largely covered by enlarged black pupils. His eyes brought back sweet memories of our time on the rooftop as I woke to see them looking down at me under the rising sun. Cato's face, along with his impressive jawline, also brought back memories of our first proper introduction in the elevator after our morning training session. I recalled our first kiss, which had been short but sweet. I remember the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach when our lips touched for the first time. Unfortunately my reflections were cut short, before my mind could explore any further, when Cato's low whimper began and his face wrinkled in agony.

"I-I'm fine" Cato muttered as he managed to conceal the pain as best he could. "Get off of me," he commanded angrily before capturing the harshness in his tone. I wasn't the best at hiding my emotions, and he could tell that he had hurt my feelings by the bleakness of his pitch. My heart sank at the comment, as I weaved my fingers out from under his hard fists. He immediately grabbed my hand back in his before I could pull myself away from him, to give him the space he had so clearly wished for. "I didn't mean it like that," he called out, but his voice was hardly audible through the pain that now governed his speech. "I'm sorry…I know I screwed up. Please don't be mad," he whispered, as his eyes met mine with an all-too-familiar sense of grief.

"I could never be mad at you," I whispered, still feeling the damage from his cold-shoulder.

"You're a terrible liar," Cato said next, before a yowl of pain surged its way up from his lungs. It was unbearable seeing him in so much pain, as Johanna and Gloss looked on beside me, and Katniss searched around for any more tributes that may be in the area. I knew that he wasn't going to get any better with the arrow still protruding from his side as it did, so I motioned Johanna over to the silver shaft, before a hard hand gripped onto my shoulder from below me. "Make it quick, okay?" Cato said, as I reassured him with a quick smile. It wasn't long before Johanna had made her way to rest beside Cato's body now as she began inspecting the wound with a tilt of her head. She looked up at me with a stark expression, shaking her head slowly as if she was trying to relay that Cato's wound was anything but minimal.

"This isn't going to be pretty, Cato," Johanna said, clenching her teeth as she spoke somberly. I watched as he turned his head to Johanna and acknowledged the pain that was about to come to him. "I could've lied, but you deserve better," Johanna said, as she smiled over to me. It was a very real moment for Johanna, I realized, as she understood that she was no longer trying to save another tribute, but a common friend.

His head turned back to face me when Johanna clenched both her hands around the silver shaft of the arrow, hoping to find any ounce of forgiveness before the shutter of pain would take over his body.

I thought back to my younger years when I first met Katniss on one of her hunting expeditions, on the outskirts of District 12, on illegal soil. The Capitol had never expended its valuable fortune on powering the electrical fences that surrounded my district, so it was an easy way to catch game to provide for starving families. Between my time at the bakery and school, I would run off to think by myself in the meadows behind the old mill. I remember the flowers that swayed in the wind under the open valley, which would smell of sweet lavender and fresh heather. On one occasion, I noticed Katniss patrolling the fence before ducking under a gap and running down into the woodlands. I followed her out of curiosity, and concern, and had almost been struck by an arrow before I found my answer as to what she had been doing outside the districts boundaries. I reminded myself that I had thought to be the only one who broke the rules that the Capitol had instituted, but was proved wrong when Katniss explained that she would hunt for food to provide for her impoverished family. She had used a bow and arrows for as long as I could remember, explaining that they were strategically molded to cause more pain when removed than from the actual strike itself.

Knowing that it in no way would make up for his pain, I brought myself down before crashing my lips onto his. _They were slightly rougher now that he had suffered from dehydration_, I thought, _but they also held something to be desired_. His lips were strong but soft to the touch of my own, as I pushed myself into him to deepen it. As our lips began to tingle and a low moan escaped from his lips, I heard the loud rip of flesh and experienced as his body contorted into itself. His lips never left mine, I recalled, but I felt the surge of pain make its way down his spine, as he recoiled in agony. I started to pull myself from him, sure that both my allies and the Capitol had received an eyeful, but a strong hand made its way to the back of my head, as Cato whispered to me.

"Don't," he began, "I just got you back." But instead of closing the distance between our lips again, he wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me to his chest in a warm embrace. "You don't know how much I've missed you, Mellark," he sighed, squeezing me hard once or twice before I gave in. He had always surprised me with how emotional he could get, despite his vicious tongue and violent actions toward others.

Johanna was the first to break up our special moment when she began clearing her throat ever so slightly before a louder rumble managed to escape. Cato was the first to apologize, before I pulled myself from his arms and flushed red with embarrassment. I had never been one for public display of affection but it was hard to resist Cato's pout and the innate whimpering that followed thereafter.

"Are you two lovers almost done? The arrow has been out of his side for about 5 minutes now," Johanna said. It had been a long day so far and her characteristic gruff demeanor was a nice addition to the moment, so before long I had pulled her into a large embrace, thanking her for helping Cato. She was not one for any displays of affection either and before long she was motioning for me to let her go. To add to her fire, I kept my grasp a little while longer before she issued to decapitate me with her axe.

I grinned at her and sent her a flirtatious wink, before I walked back toward Cato, who was being helped to his feet by Gloss. I watched as he shifted in pain, staggering back before collecting himself. _Oh, Haymitch, we need you_, I mouthed as I faced the sky, hoping that he was somewhere watching over us. I almost plowed into Katniss as I made my way toward Cato, tears streaming down our faces. We had both made it this far into the games and were finally reunited with one another. I couldn't have asked for a better ally and friend to be in this moment with.

"If I was paranoid, I'd think you were cheating on me," Cato said, winking as he stumbled into Gloss' arms. I beckoned over to him with a wink before stating that we had not yet defined our 'relationship.' _Had we? _I thought. He titled his head, as he thought back to our time spent together, before he shrugged and the conversation moved on.

Katniss motioned for me to join her over by the hedges, as Johanna picked up Cato's goggles and rested them on his face. She had a look of concern on her face, and I knew what she must have been thinking before she began to speak. "Cato's in pretty rough shape. If we don't get him medicine soon, I don't know how far we're going to make it. Who knows how well he can fight – and I'd rather not find out any time soon," she said slowly. I understood what she was trying to convey before the sound of Johanna's voice cut off my reply.

"We've been stumbling around in the jungle for days," Johanna started, "and we've noticed that the deeper you get into each sector the more traps there are. We'd be best to keep to the tree line if we want to avoid any more tricks that the gamemakers have left under their sleeves." She watched as each of us registered her words, and I began thinking about our best plan of action before I was interrupted by a familiar voice: _Claudius Templesmith_.

_"Attention tributes, attention. There are 14 of you who remain, and each of you – or your allies – are in dire need of something…desperately. Whether that's a bottle water, a weapon to protect yourself, or __medicine__, we plan to be exceptionally well-prepared hosts. Now, before any of you disregard this opportunity, know that it could be your final chance. The feast will begin in a couple of hours. We hope to see all of you there. That is all for now, and may the odds be __ever__ in your favor."_

The announcement was quick and some of the other tributes were looking around at each other in confusion, but I understood exactly what Claudius meant. This was a second chance for Cato. He needed medicine and this would be the only chance to get it. I caught sights with Cato, whose eyes were both conflicted and understanding. I didn't have time to come up with a game plan before Cato was at my side in protest.

"No. You're not going, I won't let you leave me," he said as another shudder of pain passed through his body. He tried to steady himself against Gloss, who nodded at me in agreement.

"It's too dangerous, Peeta. You know that. They just want to drag you all in for another bloodbath. You have to think clearly," Gloss said sternly, before I cut him off.

"I am thinking clearly, Gloss. This is Cato we're talking about. I'm going and there's nothing you can say or do that will stop me," I replied in agony as my defiance sent a cold wave to Cato that struck as hard as the arrow did. _He has to understand that I'm going to have to make decisions that affect the both of us sometimes, whether he likes it or not_, I thought. I was surprised when Gloss backed down, and left the fight to Cato and myself. Fortunately for me, Katniss and Johanna were by my side to back me up, before things could get worse.

"Please…" Cato trailed off. His pain no longer seemed to come from his side, but from the aching in his heart, as he came to realize my unwavering decision. I pulled myself to him slowly, as I reached around his waist to give him one last embrace before I would leave his side again. "I just got you back babe…" Cato said, which caused a tear to fall from my eye and roll down my cheek, falling onto the nape of his neck. He had called me 'babe' and I was leaving him. The realization was too much for me to handle. In a perfect world, I could take him with me, that the tribute from District 11 would not have had the chance to take away the moment I have been searching for, for the last couple of days. But nothing was ever easy in the games, and sometimes sacrifices had to be made. I didn't know what this meant for Cato and me, but I would get that medicine for him, if I had to take my last dying breath to do so.

"I'm so sorry, Cato. I can't lose you. I wouldn't be able to bear it," I stammered as I clung to him, not wanting to let go of his waist. His abdomen was extremely well toned, and my hormones threatened to lift his jacket to steal a glance at his body. But instead, I rubbed the small of his back before slowly pulling away, managing to pass my hands slowly over his hips. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise." I watched as he tried to hold back the surge of emotions that rummaged through his face all at once, and deciding that he'd be unable to change my mind, he gave in to my choice.

"You better be, Peeta. Be careful," he whispered, turning his head away from me. I had hurt him by rejecting his reasoning. I knew the danger, but he was worth it. So instead of calling after him and Gloss, I turned to Johanna and Katniss, and motioned for us to start moving. Katniss had strung the arrows from the District 11 tribute into her quiver, and Johanna had spent the last few minutes cleaning off her axe. We were prepared to fight, and fight we would.

* * *

The Cornucopia was reflective in the darkness of the arena, and we marched toward it with a single task: to retrieve our gift from the gamemakers. Katniss was used to the woodland and therefore she walked in front of our pack, as she cut away at the leaves that hung in our path. I had settled the knives that Gloss had given to me into my jacket pocket, which were easily accessible if the time came. Gloss had thought it would be best to have me armed, and Cato wouldn't have allowed me to leave him without a weapon in the first place. Gloss reasoned that he would use Cato's sword if they ran into any tributes while they wait for the others to return.

We walked at a steady pace as we eagerly broke the tree line. We were vulnerable now that we had no cover from the trees that could shelter us from potential run-ins with other tributes. Fortunately we didn't see any other tributes as we strode onward, enthusiastically approaching the Cornucopia in the distance. It was a lot further than it looked through the goggles, as everything around us was a dark blur. The darkness made me lose my footing every so often, though thankfully Johanna was there to safeguard me from any potential damage by catching onto my jacket. Katniss' laughter would clear the silence, as she would mumble comments about my incapacity to walk on my own two-feet. _It wasn't my fault I was clumsy, considering how dark it was in the arena_, I thought, though I remained quiet, as I was sure I would get a nasty comeback if I did not.

The ground here was a lot more secure than that in the forest itself, and thankfully there were no traps employed by the gamemakers. This was probably due to the very likely possibility of tributes being spotted from the tree line because they were not sheltered. I trudged on, tossing a few glances behind me to make sure there were no pursuers on our tails. When I found none, my mind began to fill with images of Cato being struck with the arrow countless times before I could shake myself from my tremors.

"Are you alright?" Katniss called back. She must have caught the flicker of terror that crossed my face just moments beforehand. "You've been awfully quiet since we left the others…" she said questioningly, as she continued steadily before me.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"You heard Cato…you're a terrible liar. What's going on?" Katniss said, and Johanna flashed me a smirk as she shook her head at my inability to pull off a simple lie.

"Apparently I'm an open-book," I began before my tone became more serious than I had intended it to. _I had to open up to someone eventually_, I considered. Exerting a large sigh, I began my story from the beginning.

"Do you remember when we were young Katniss, and you knew something was off with me. I mean you always sort of knew that I wasn't interested in girls. Well, I just never considered the possibility of falling head-over-heels for someone, more or less being a competitor in the Hunger Games alongside them. I'm not saying I'm in love. But I am saying that I've never felt this way about someone before, and I'm not ready to lose him. This whole situation sucks, because no matter how much I try to help Cato, he won't open up to me. I'm going to make some mistakes, that's for sure, but I also don't want to lose him because of it. _He makes me happy_. I can't lose that." I breathed a sigh of relief as I confessed how I was feeling to both girls, who instinctively doubled-back and took me in their arms.

"You won't lose him. The way he looks at you, it's inspiring. It makes me wish I had what you two have," Katniss said, her eyes gleaming.

"I'll even admit that you two make a great couple," Johanna said, before realizing that her compliment was actually a positive statement, and she pulled herself back.

"Thanks. I'm so glad I have you both here with me," I began, before being silenced by Johanna.

"And we're done! Everything's so sappy when we're together. It's almost nauseating," she stated, but a smile that made its way into the corners of her lips signaled that she secretly admired their time together.

We were close now as we neared the pedestals of the tributes that began on the northern side of the Cornucopia. The luxury goods still gleamed in place, as we took in the table that held four small packs; each marked with a distinct number: 1, 2, 4, and 12. Katniss broke their silence first, as she listed their plan. _There could be any number of tributes at this feast, so we had to be prepared_, I thought.

"One of us will need to stay back in case we run into a full-scale ambush. Since I have a bow, I think I'll stay back and pick off any unsuspecting tributes. Johanna, you and Peeta can go for the supply bag, and make it back here in a couple of minutes. If you run into any problems, you know what to do," she said, as she gestured to both tributes. She closed the distance between us and gave Johanna a small reassuring hug, before planting a kiss on my cheek. "Good luck."

"And may the odds be ever in our favor," I finished, before we all broke into laughter.

This would be their only chance to save Cato, and they were going to exhaust any resources they needed to do so.

As I gestured to Johanna to start on-foot toward the Cornucopia, we gave a final glance back at Katniss who was readying her bow in preparation. It was about 100 feet or so before we reached the Cornucopia. The ground here was secured with steel plating, and the table rested just inside the mouth of the Cornucopia, lined with various goodies. As we approached, and I rounded the corner, the sound of a whizzing arrow passed us, sinking into an unknown tribute from District 1. _And so it began_.

Johanna cried out for me to grab the supply bag, as I rushed toward the table. A slender female whose razor teeth gleamed under the reflection of my goggles stopped me before I could manage a couple of feet. _Enobaria_, I recalled. She was unarmed as she barreled into me, sending both of us crashing into the ground. The shock of the impact took the air from my lungs as I tried to avoid the lunging teeth toward my throat. I managed to throw her off of me and instinctively jumped onto her, sending her back toward the ground with a thud. She raised her fist and before I could dodge she struck the side of my face with a large blow. I skimmed the side of my mouth with my tongue to make sure that the blow did not damage any teeth, when the next blow knocked me square in the shoulder, sending me staggering back.

She was on her feet in seconds as she pulled the nearest sword up from under her and began swinging it in my direction. I dodged the first couple of swings before the sword sliced a small gouge into my back as I dove into her. She lost her grip on the sword, as I grabbed for the nearest weapon. A small axe with a sturdy black handle rested in a pile by some crates, so I managed to grip it before slamming it down toward Enobaria. The steel made a loud clang as it met with her steel club that she had fetched during our tumble.

I turned to see Johanna running toward my direction, as I raised myself from Enobaria, who quickly rose to her feet behind me. As I dodged her next swing, I watched as Johanna's axe flung itself into Enobaria's chest and a cannon blasted overhead.

_One down, three to go_, I thought. Johanna was panting as she lifted her axe from Enobaria's lifeless body and shook the splattered blood off of its surface. We had barely any time before the next attack began, when Finnick and Glimmer showed up on the scene. They looked well prepared to fight, and Johanna and I had only to hope that Katniss was readying herself to launch her arrows.

I ducked as Glimmer sent an arrow my way, taking note that she was not the sharpest tool in the drawer when it came to managing weapons. Johanna lunged at her as Finnick dove into me. Both parties hit the ground of the Cornucopia before the fighting began.

I tried to avoid Finnick's assault as I could hear Johanna grunting in the distance. I was growing endlessly tired of these Careers, who managed to spoil every poignant moment in these games. I remembered a trick that Katniss had taught me during our training, as I pulled my knees in and buckled as I sent Finnick flying behind me.

I ran toward Johanna, who was currently struggling with Glimmer. Glimmer had successfully pinned both her arms to the ground, as Johanna screamed for my help. Before I could bring myself over to her, a towering force broke into my back as I was sent forward. Finnick had regained his footing and was standing over me, his orange goggles peering down into mine as he savored the moment. His trident gleamed in his hands as he rotated it, probably deciding where he would begin his attacks.

It all happened so quickly as Katniss' arrow flew into Glimmer's temple beside me as another cannon roared in the distance. Johanna had regained her balance in no time at all, before Finnick could do me any harm.

"Do you really think you've won, twelve?" Finnick chuckled, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth as he looked to Johanna and myself intently. "We knew you'd bring your little 'girl on fire' with you, so I sent Marvel to take care of her. It's too bad you won't be able to save her." Finnick's laughter rose out from the coughs of blood that filled his mouth, as he gave the two tributes a final glare and proceeded to run back toward the woods.

I tried to warn Katniss, eagerly screaming out her name, but receiving no response. My only answer being the distinct sound of cannon fire in the distance.

**Author's Note: Happy New Year's everyone! I want to thank everybody who has favorited, followed, reviewed, or even read the story! I'm almost at 1000 views and this is my first time writing fanfiction. It's definitely time-consuming but I love it, and hearing from you all makes it an even better experience. Also, I'm considering the possibility of a sequel which would drastically change the outcome of the story, so inbox me or leave a comment in your review if you would be interested in that. Thanks again!**


	9. Consequences

**Chapter 9: Consequences**

We made our way into the clearing shortly after the ambush at the Cornucopia being sure to pass glances behind us to make sure Marvel and Finnick hadn't followed us back to our camp. The journey seemed to drag on as we made our way back, but we passed through the thick foliage lined with moss into an open clearing where two large boys sat in discussion. They turned their heads quickly when they heard the rustling of leaves and the small cracks as branches underfoot snapped under our weight.

Gloss was the first of the boys to his feet and before long Cato had joined him, using Gloss' weight to balance himself. He looked worse than he had before we left on our trip to the Cornucopia. He looked weaker and more vulnerable than ever. His jacket was torn where the arrow had sunk itself into his side, and I could see that his wound had stopped bleeding. Unfortunately, the dried blood on his side was both masked over by the putrid smell of pus and a yellow-like liquid protruded from it. _It was definitely infected_, I thought, before racing over to the tall blonde. It wasn't much of a distance to him but once again the gap between us seemed to last for an eternity before I plummeted myself into his arms. I wrapped both set of arms around his waist and sank my face into his cold, jacket that radiated with the heat coming from his body. If I could make this moment last, I would have, but Cato eagerly needed to have his wound treated by the ointment in our supply bag.

Johanna had carried the bag over her shoulder as we made our way back from the Cornucopia, insisting that it would be better for both of us if I could hack away at the ferns that blocked our path as we walked. It was a small bag that contained only a small amount of ointment that was cool and wet to the touch. The jar that it came in was round and covered in small Capitol seals. The bag itself had a loose string that could easily be heaved over your shoulder. It hung itself loosely on Johanna's back, as I recalled, and it matched her dark jacket as it rubbed up against the compact fabric.

I had hardly begun to let go of Cato before Johanna cleared her throat, gave us a cheeky comment, and had positioned herself by Cato's side. I took this time to string my fingers through Cato's and felt his smooth skin up against my own, which caused a spine-tingling sensation. Johanna had opened up the canister containing the ointment slowly, as she placed two fingers into it and then placed them against Cato's injury. Cato exclaimed a small yelp as the cold medicine prickled against his skin and squeezed his hand hard into my own.

The smell of the medicine reminded me of the one I had received, but it also contained a slightly rancid smell of some chemical component inside it. Cato's shoulders and hand relaxed after a couple of seconds as Johanna tightened the lid back onto the jar.

"Apply this again in two hours, Cato," she said somberly. She managed a smile as she pulled herself over to Gloss and sat down in the grass beside him. Cato gave me a glimmering smile that showcased his impressive row of teeth and nuzzled my nose before his lips came crashing down onto mine.

His lips were electric. They caused several chills to make their way from the top of my spine toward my tailbone as a blush made its way onto my cheeks. Small hairs pricked my lips as he pulled me in closer to intensify our embrace. He began to push himself into me, desperately seeking an entrance into my moist lips. I gathered that my time away from him in the arena had affected the other boy, who was eagerly retreating his hand from my side down toward my lower back. His tongue pushed itself passed my teeth as I gave in to him, giving over the power of dominance. I felt as his cheeks pushed themselves into a smile, as he began tracing the sides of my mouth. I could hardly feel my sore muscles now that he was kissing me again. His hand had just recently placed itself onto my bum with a small squeeze before I shrieked and he let go. He looked at me with concern before a low chuckle managed to escape his lips and he was pulling into a small embrace once again.

Gloss was the first one to spoil our moment when he passed a glance over the three tributes that surrounded him, counting each as he did. His face expressed many emotions, which was particularly illustrated by the sound in his voice when he spoke up in distress.

"Where's Katniss?" he managed to say slowly and calmly. I had now pulled myself away from Cato long enough to pass him a shallow shake of my head. My reddened eyes were enough to confirm his thoughts before his head drooped down. I thought I could hear him trying to hold back tears as small whimpering sounds began to break free of his lungs.

I looked up at Cato who was currently trying to process what I meant when I shook my head. His face contorted into several emotions: denial, pain, guilt, and acceptance. Before I knew it I was back in his arms again and the anthem was playing overhead. I stared at Cato as he registered the deaths of Glimmer and Enobaria…followed by his disheartened glance to me when the District 12 female's face appeared in the night sky. Cato whispered that there were only 8 tributes left now, but I couldn't bring myself to think about it. He mentioned that the redheaded girl from District 5 was still alive, which came as no surprise for she was one of the smarter tributes in this year's game. There would only be a few more deaths before they would have to turn their backs on each other and potentially watch as their ally's…friends…and newfound family would fall to the Capitol's mercy.

Images began flowing back to me as Cato held me in his arms and the sounds of wails from Johanna and Gloss erupted into the meadow.

I remember the smirk on Finnick's face as he revealed to Johanna and I that they had planned for the tributes to split up. The look of triumph and victory on his face would be enough to haunt my dreams for the next few restless nights. As he ran off into the woods, Johanna had passed me a worried glance before both our heads were turned to the sky after a cannon fired close to their location. We were on our feet in seconds, running back toward the northern side of the Cornucopia toward our mutual friend. But we were too late. We watched as Marvel ripped his spear from Katniss' back and the orange glow in her goggles becoming no more; Katniss had fallen to the darkness and her lifeless body fell to the forest floor with a loud thud. The _thud thud thud_. It kept thrashing itself around in my mind. It was a cold sound, but we knew that she was dead before we had even managed to pull ourselves from the blood-soaked ground.

I remember Johanna's loud scream before everything happened to quickly to recall. I had only the memory of time seemingly slowing down – the wind and the shaking of the woodland trees coming to a halt – as Johanna and I closed the distance between where we stood and Katniss' motionless form. There wasn't much blood, only the penetration wound from the spear that soaked itself against Katniss' jacket. The tears were too much to hold back before I joined Johanna in her somber song.

Katniss was my best friend, the girl I had known and loved for as long as I could remember, from my District. We knew each other's secrets and the small details of each other's love life before the other even. She was strong, courageous and a better person than Peeta could even wished to have been in a thousand lifetimes. _How would I be able to explain this to her family_, I thought between gulps of air. I knew I should have been there with her, to protect her. I told Haymitch to protect Katniss, but I was the one who failed her in the end.

Johanna was the first to move from her spot as she raced over to a small meadow that grew flowers that smelt like the ones back in District 12. She had moved in quick spurts as she was back before I could catch my breath. Johanna placed the flowers between Katniss' hands and placed them over her heart. I couldn't pull myself to close her eyes, so Johanna had volunteered to do so for me. _That was a debt that I would never be able to repay_, I thought as I passed a glance in her direction.

I knew that the Capitol had to take her body from us, but it was an unbearable task to have to let her go. I sat there in silence with Johanna who before long had begun to pull me from her chest.

"Please, Johanna. I can't do this anymore. I've lost too much already. Just let me be with her," I had managed between tears that poured themselves onto my cheeks. They were streaming now, almost uncontrollably. So Johanna had respected my wishes and gave me time to grieve, before the rumbling of hovercraft jets signaled that it was time to let her go. _She died trying to protect us, so I made a promise to myself that I would win this; I would win this for her. For our district. I would make Snow pay for it._

Cato woke me from my senses the next morning. I had hardly realized that I had passed out during our mourning and my legs were interwoven through his. I could feel his heartbeat against my head and hear it pulsate beside my ear. It was slow and the beat was shallow, relaxed. He was currently entwining his fingers through my hair as I slipped my cold hand under his shirt to warm them up against his body. I must admit that his muscles in his abdomen were quite impressive and I'm sure that he knew what I was thinking before his low voice spoke up to break our silence.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to be able to wake up next to you," he whispered, as I turned my head up to him to pass him a quick grin. His eyes were still groggy from sleep, and his hair was a complete mess from sleeping up against the supply bag that contained his medicine, but he was still stunning.

"When did I fall asleep last night?" I asked him, unsure.

"You don't remember? I was holding you while you told us about what happened…" He cleared his throat before continuing, "…with Katniss. You cried yourself to sleep. You were worn out, so I didn't want to wake you. That's how we ended here." He gestured using his eyes, looking around them and then over toward where Johanna and Gloss were currently laying together.

"Did they-" I began to ask before Cato cut my off as he shook his head.

"They fell asleep shortly after you did. I kept an eye out for anything throughout the night, and got some rest this morning for an hour or so. I'm not overly tired. That medicine must have worked wonders," he said before I screamed out and Johanna and Gloss began rustling in their sleep.

I pulled my head up from Cato's chest slowly, to peer over at his injury, and was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the wound had healed. A small cut was the only remaining sign that something had penetrated the skin. "Oh my God, Cato! Look at it! There's hardly anything left," I exclaimed. Cato used his elbows to lift himself up to inspect his wound, and he looked shocked when he realized that I was being truthful.

"Wow!" he exclaimed in response, before a look of sadness crossed over his face. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was hard to miss the flicker of pain that shot through his sexy, blue eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, nudging him sweetly with my nose. It met with his cheek before Cato's forehead turned to meet mine. We rested them together for a little while before he started to talk.

"It's nothing. I'm just happy to have you back, that's all," he replied. _He was a good liar_, I thought.

"Darling, you're almost as bad as me when it comes to bluffing. Something's bothering you. You can tell me anything, I promise I won't get mad," I said to him. I watched as he mulled over the idea, and then he breathed a sigh before he confessed.

"I was so worried about you when you left. I couldn't stand to sit around and do nothing. Luckily Gloss was always there, making sure that I didn't strain myself," Cato began slowly. I nodded for him to go on. "Anyways, I was still upset with you for not listening to me. I didn't want to lose you, and I knew the gamemakers were setting us up for a loss. I just feel terrible that I get to live, when Katniss gave her life to save me."

"Oh, Cato," I said slowly and sympathetically. I wrapped my arms under his and rested them vertically up his back, and brought my face to his chest. I could feel his heartbeat again. Only this time it was racing. _He was terrified for me_, I insinuated. "Katniss knew what she was doing and she wouldn't have had it any other way. I promise. I'll never be able to forgive myself for being so selfish…but I know that Katniss wouldn't want me to give up like this," I said. I found myself tearing up again, but brushed them away quickly before Cato could take notice. I didn't want to make him feel worse, but it was still impossible for me to accept losing her. She couldn't be gone. Not like this. Not now. Not when I needed her most.

I watched as Cato felt the support he needed and he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before he pulled himself to his feet. "I see someone's a little eager this morning," I said jokingly.

"I just want to move! I've been sitting here forever, so I can't wait to get moving," Cato replied. His natural gleam was back and a twinkle in his eye signaled that he was back to the same old stubbornness. "Hey lovebirds, are you ready to get moving?" Cato called out. Johanna and Gloss, who were currently rubbing the sleep from their eyes, shot a disgusted glance back at Cato before Johanna responded.

"That's disgusting. I'm ready to go when you two are. Gloss, let's go, pull yourself together," Johanna said matter-of-factly. Cato and I broke out into laughter when she turned to Gloss and gave his jacket a large tug, having no effect on the much-larger brute.

"I'm ready, I'm ready," Gloss said angrily. "Enough with the pushing already, Johanna" he complained.

I shot Cato a knowing smirk before we both broke out into laughter again. It felt so nice to be able to laugh in moments like this. I grabbed hold of Cato's hand quickly before the other two made their way over.

"Let the journey begin," Gloss said simply. He led the way, as Johanna followed closely behind. Cato and I made our way slowly behind them, as Cato adjusted the goggles on my face, which had recently been damaged during my altercation with Finnick.

Cato's face would be the first thing I'd like to set eyes on if we ever made our way out of this arena. But I knew, deep down in my heart, that that would not be the case. _I was never leaving this arena_. I knew that.

"Hey, baby, I was thinking last night that if we survive this arena, my sister would love to meet you," Cato said, which surprised me.

"You drop these bombshells on me, and then have the nerve to tell me I'm unpredictable," I replied, half-jokingly and half-serious. "Come here," I said, as I tugged at his jacket.

He leaned down, so that I could whisper into his ear. "Call me baby again," I started, "and I'll have to take advantage of this darkness." That came out a lot more sexually driven than I had originally intended, but Cato's quick turn of his head signified that he secretly enjoyed it.

"You're perfect, you know," Cato said, before finishing his sentence off by whispering 'baby' into my ear flirtatiously. _He's driving me insane_, I noted. The sexual tension was enough to cause the other two tributes to turn back.

"We know what's going on back there," Johanna started, "and it's nauseating…and a little adorable. But if you say that I said that, I'll kill you both myself."

"Considering we're on live television, I don't think it'd be easy for you to deny that statement," Cato retorted, with a large grin still present on his face. _Sexy and smart_, I thought, _now I'm definitely not letting him go_.

I noticed that we were edging our way closer and closer to the Cornucopia now, and images of the night before encircled my thoughts. I felt it all again: the pain from each blow that Enobaria lodged into me, the smell of metallic blood splattered on the grass, the look on Finnick's face as the realization sunk in, and the death of—

"Hey," Cato said as he placed his hand on my back to comfort me. "You're shaking. Are you alright?" he said, but he knew exactly what I was thinking of when his goggles situated themselves on the towering steel object before us.

"I'm alright. Just thinking about last night. Can you hold me?" I said. I hoped the citizens of the Capitol would see this. _Maybe somewhere, deep down inside their cold hearts, they could come to realize the masochistic nature of the games_, I thought.

With a nod of his head, followed by a strong arm along my waistline, Cato pulled me in close. He was always warm to the touch, and despite the games, he smelt just as good if not better. His musky odor mixed with the smell of pine and evergreens made him that much more delectable.

We were rounding the better half of the Cornucopia now, as Johanna and Gloss made their way to find some precious resources that would be needed to sustain us for the remainder of the games. The field here was still wet from last nights downpour, which had washed away most of the blood that had soaked the grass. There were several cannons in the distance that went of simultaneously.

"What is that?" Johanna exclaimed, as our eyes met with the force field. It was closing in around us, before we had time to adjust our sights on Finnick and Marvel who were running alongside another tribute. I recognized her as Foxface from District 5. Typical, I stuttered. _She was surely desperate if she had aligned herself with those two_, I thought.

Cato stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "What are you doing?" I screamed, attempting to push him aside.

"Saving your life. It was always going to come down to this, Peeta. You know it and I know it," he shouted, not even turning to meet my gaze. What was he thinking! I screamed to myself. Our enemies were fast approaching, and the force field was hard on their trail.

The force field buzzed in the distance, as the trees folded in on themselves, the ground shaking around us. Rocks were thrown into the open air, striking my goggles as the sound of glass shattering exploded into the darkness.

"Cato! I can't see anything," I shouted, as I reached for his arm.

"Hold on to me! Johanna, you and Gloss need to get Peeta to safety!" I had never heard Cato raise his voice as he did then. His tone was masked with fear and strength, as if it were trying to hold back the unmistakable feeling that this was the end.

I crashed into the ground next when someone barrelled into me, as I heard the shouts and screams of the others begin. I heard the sounds of metal clashing against metal, and the grunts from both Finnick and Cato. I was terrified and I couldn't see anything but darkness. I could only feel the cool wind rummaging my jacket as the body on top of me began to whisper in my ear.

"Stay. Down." Gloss said sternly, as I felt the warm splatter of what I knew to be blood across my face. I felt the form lift itself from me, before I could hear Gloss tossing around with Marvel only a few intervals after.

_But then the worst of all happened. _

It wasn't the violent scream making its way from Cato's mouth, or the sound of a cannon firing only a few feet away, but instead the earth beneath me which was starting to spin.

I had a few seconds to think about what could have been happening in that moment..._Footsteps that were racing toward me_. Unfortunately I only had a fraction of a second to gather my strength and pull myself upright, before I was knocked into unconscious by a metal rod.

* * *

**Author's Note: Here you go! I'll probably upload another chapter to "Temptations" late tonight (hopefully!). So be on the lookout! Thanks everyone :) **


	10. Before All is Lost

**Chapter 10: Before All is Lost**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Hunger Games. All of "The Hunger Games" related material is credited to Suzanne Collins. **

I awoke in an all-white room that had several cots where other tributes were currently resting. The sunlight burned against my eyelids as I opened them, before momentarily adjusting to the influx of light. I could hear the distant sound of voices in the hallway at the end of the room, which were masked by the slow beeping sounds from the variety of machines around me. I tried to adjust my eyes as I turned my head to inspect my surroundings. First I noticed the IV that was currently protruding from my forearm, then the blood bag hanging overtop of me, and finally an innumerable amount of bandages that covered the wrist of my right arm. _My tracker_, I thought.

I could see that there were bloodstains that soaked the white wrapping, but averted my gaze before becoming more nauseated than I had already become. _I was surely in a hospital of some sort_, I thought. I could see several nurses tending to other tributes, but couldn't see any sign of Cato. My heart began to race as I took in the sights of Gloss, Finnick and Marvel. They were spaced out across the room from me, and there was also an empty bed beside me that didn't seem to have held any one. The sheets were neatly covered under the tiny mattress, and the pillows were puffed up against the railings surrounding it.

I could hear low groaning coming from Marvel's bedside now, and watched as three nurses made their way rapidly over to his bedside. He was tossing and turning under his sheets, and he seemed to have been seizing from the looks of his mangled form. Although he was a horrible person, I still felt awful seeing him writhe in pain.

I was surprised as a nurse came over to check on me. She wore a pink and white scrub, with a Capital seal resting just over her heart. The seal was a little unusual, as it seemed to include a wrapping snake around it. I tried to gesture for her, but she averted her gaze right away. I watched as she motioned for a couple of nurses on the other side of the room to come inspect me, before I began calling for her. She passed a glance toward me as I realized that she could not respond to my shouts, because she was an avox. Capitol servants whose tongues were cut out in representation of their treason against the government who had provided for them.

"Where am I?" I managed, though my voice was hardly audible through lack of use. _How long had I been out? Why are we not in the arena? Why is my face so sore? _An innumerable amount of questions circled into my head, but I couldn't bring myself to answer any of them.

I watched as the nurse signaled over to a man in the hallway to come over. He'd be of much better use, I assumed. I glanced over as he made his way into the room slowly. I tried to adjust my eyes to see exactly who it was, but his voice removed all doubt.

"The answer to that would be the Capitol infirmary," he said, as he managed a smile. His teeth weren't the greatest from all the sweets he had indulged in for the past twenty or more years. He wore a nice suit, and his greasy hair hung down low enough to caress against his cheeks.

"Haymitch!" I exclaimed. "I thought I'd never see you again!" My mind was so jumbled from taking in the sight of my mentor, that I completely ignored his statement about being in the Capitol. "Why am I in the Capitol?" I asked, as a growing terror began to form.

Haymitch gestured to the side of the bed as if asking to take a seat, so I gave him a quick nod before he took a seat beside me. His breath smelled of alcohol as usual, but his eyes held an account of sobriety. "This might take a while to explain, but seeing as you don't have any where else to be, let me get started," he said. He smiled as he said it, _still laughing at his own humor_, I mumbled to myself. With his left had he pulled back the hair on his face, before he continued: "A lot has changed since you went into the arena, Peeta. The districts…they've been revolting. They watched your struggle to find and be reunited with Cato. Their hearts broke when you lost your best friend to save him. They gained hope when you were able to successfully cure his wound. Peeta…" Haymitch started somberly. "You're a symbol to them. A symbol of hope, peace, and love. You showed the Capitol that nothing could stop you and Cato from being together – despite everything that stood in your way," he said.

"I didn't really realize how my relationship with Cato affected others, I guess," I said, trying to think back to the arena, before snapping back to reality. Haymitch did not look too pleased as he shook his head and continued on.

"Peeta, this isn't a game anymore. The districts have been rebelling against the Capitol ever since. President Snow has issued a lock down in the Capitol, and sent peacekeepers to all the districts to try and manage this. Plutarch believed that the rebellion would be unsafe for any of the tributes to continue in the arena. He knew that the longer he kept you and Cato in there, the greater threat that would arise from the districts. So we got you out. All of the tributes, actually," Haymitch corrected himself. He gave me a reassuring look, but his expression was filled with something unmistakable: turmoil.

"Haymitch, what does this mean? I mean…is it over?" I tried to manage a smile, but the situation didn't seem right. Haymitch's gaze had not shifted from my own, and he watched as I tried to process this new information. Uprising in the districts…Cato and I being a symbol for war...it was all too much for one sitting.

"I'm not too sure what this means, Peeta. All I know is that the Capitol isn't happy with you. In their eyes, whatever you and Cato had in the arena was enough to cause countless casualties," Haymitch replied honestly. He began to sit up and motioned that I was going to need my rest for the time being. _But I have so many questions,_ I thought, before it all seemed to hit me.

"What do you mean by 'had' with Cato?" I questioned with fear that I would receive an answer I didn't want to hear. He turned back slowly to meet my worried expression, before I continued. "Haymitch…where is he? Where's Cato?" I added, trying to free myself from the countless tubes that rested over me.

"Peeta…" Haymitch started. "You have to know that his injuries that he sustained in the arena were really severe. By the time that we managed to get to him—" he added, before tears began to stream from my eyes.

"No…Oh God no…please Haymitch…He can't be…No…No…No!" my voice started, increasingly rising to a shout, which alerted several of the nurses. I turned as they passed a few glances between each other and then shrugged.

"Peeta, calm down. This isn't good for your recovery," Haymitch reasoned with me.

"I don't care! Where is he? I need to see him," I said, but Haymitch was already at my side eagerly attempting to push me back into the bed.

"Peeta, he's alive," Haymitch said quickly.

"He's a-alive…?" I stuttered, as tears kept pouring down from my burning eyes. I watched as Haymitch passed a small glance behind him, and then back to me once again.

"He's comatose, Peeta. I'm sorry. You've been out for nearly four days now, and he hasn't made any progress. I can take you to see him, but you have to promise me that you'll allow me to escort you by wheelchair. Your muscles are too weak right now," Haymitch said.

"You promised me that you'd save him, Haymitch. Do you remember our promise?" I asked, as I looked up into his eyes. His once clear eyes had now contained a multitude of pain. "You promised me that whatever it took, he and Katniss were going to make it out of that arena alive. I held up my half of the bargain. We made it through the first day," I added.

"Peeta, I wasn't there. The sponsors were only interested in you. They were inspired by your selflessness," he stated as he shifted in his place. "I tried, Peeta. I was up night and day trying to help Katniss and Cato in any way that I could. But I couldn't save her…I'm sorry." I had never once seen Haymitch shed a tear since volunteering for the games, and I was immediately struck by his vulnerability as he leaned against the bedding and started to sob. Between gasps of air, I could hear him mouthing that he was sorry. Countless times he tried to pull himself together, but he couldn't shake it. I knew I had held him to too much, as I then started to speak somberly.

"I shouldn't have held you to all of this. You saved us in the games, Haymitch. I know that," I began. "If it wasn't for you, we could have easily starved or died of dehydration. I'll never be able to repay that. I don't hold you accountable for Katniss' death. I just can't stand feeling like I could have done more to save her," I replied. I watched as Haymitch began to reason with himself, and before long he had grabbed my hand. His hand was freezing cold when it first made contact with my own, but it was strong and supportive. It was what both of us needed in that moment. We were wounded, and the games had clearly taken a toll on both of us. With a reassuring squeeze, he looked up at me and then beckoned for a nurse to bring over a wheelchair.

"Let's bring you over to see Cato," he said.

It was a struggle for me to pull myself from the bed and into the wheelchair. I had not moved in over four days, and the strain of the arena on my muscles had only made them more agonizing. My arms were stronger than my legs, which thankfully allowed me to hold on to the railing before plummeting down into the chair. I felt the rush of blood through my veins in my arms as I did so, and felt the strength slowly making its way back into my system. With an approving nod, Haymitch began wheeling me out and into the corridor.

I was shocked when I seen a multitude of people from all over the districts lined in cots along the walls, shouting in pain from injuries as small as a cut to much larger injuries, such as gun wounds. Nurses and doctors were eagerly making their way between patients as Haymitch pushed the elevator button.

"Cato's room is on the fourth floor," he said simply.

The elevator door opened and more patients were being rushed in. I could hardly stand the sight of the blood and the agonizing screams that were making their way out from their lungs. Fortunately it was a short trip to Cato's room from the elevator, and the fourth floor lacked the amount of patients that were on the second.

As Haymitch wheeled me into the room where Cato was, I noticed that Johanna was sitting beside him, her hand interwoven through his. Haymitch stopped when we got to the door, issued a small goodbye, and said he would be back before the hour was up. Johanna didn't notice my entry, so when I wheeled myself over to her side, she nearly shouted in surprise.

"Peeta!" she whispered excitedly. "How are you feeling? You've been out for days, and I was so worried about you. Are there any updates on Gloss? What about the Careers? Those good for nothing—"

"How about we take it one question at a time," I chuckled, as she let out a small sigh. "I feel good, despite having been unconscious for a couple days. I don't particularly enjoy being hauled around in this get-up though," I added, before emitting a low giggle with Johanna. "As for Gloss, I'm not sure unfortunately. He was still out when I woke up, but he looked peaceful compared to Marvel who was practically seizing on the other side of the room," I said matter-of-factly.

"I hope he recovers soon enough," Johanna replied hopefully, with a tinge of sadness in her tone. "I've done my best to stay with Cato, while you've been sleeping. I didn't want him to be alone in case he woke up," Johanna added. Her expression was significantly more reassuring with this statement, as she unknotted her hand from his and reached for my own.

"I really appreciate that, Johanna. I wouldn't have wanted for him to wake up alone either," I replied. She looked great, which meant that she hadn't suffered too much while she was in the arena.

"So…Foxface?" I asked simply, intentionally keeping my words short.

Johanna shook her head, before adding: "She didn't make it." I decided that I would leave it at that. I didn't want to hear how she had died because I did not want to ruin my memory of her. I would want to remember her as the young girl, with the auburn hair and fiercely cunning mind.

"Did they tell you anything when you woke up?" Johanna inquired. She seemed curious by the look in her eyes. Her eyes were usually dark, cold, and stripped of emotion – but this morning they were rather beautiful. They enchanted me when I look into them.

"Not too much other than the fact that I'm the face of the rebellions in the Capitol, that my 'relationship' with Cato was the fuel that set the districts ablaze," I said. I watched as she processed this new information, before she pulled me to the other side of the room. She made sure that we were not under surveillance, before she sat on the windowsill.

"Listen, Peeta. I've been told that President Snow wants you dead. I overheard Effie and Cinna talking in the corridor about your family." She could the alarm in my expression before she added: "Last I heard they were here, in the Capitol. No word yet on their whereabouts, but I overheard Effie saying that they were safe."

"I don't understand, Johanna. One second we're fighting for our lives and the next we're being pawned into the revolution," I said, shifting my gaze back to Cato. He looked peaceful as ever, though the machines that prodded against him and the sound of endless beeping signified that he was anything but all right. I could hardly stand to see him like this. I didn't want Cato to be another piece of my life that was taken away all-too-soon.

"Did you say 'revolution'?" Johanna interjected.

"Well, that's what it is, isn't it? The districts rebelling against the Capitol for the state of poverty they're in. Just look outside the window, Johanna. Look at what they have in comparison to District 7…and District 12," I added.

"I just never thought about it that way, I guess. Any word on what's going to happen now that the two victors weren't crowned? There were technically six of us left in the arena when the games were called off," Johanna stated.

My mind raced back to our final moments in the arena. I remember the darkness that threatened to consume me without my goggles and the screams that were erupting by the Cornucopia. I recalled the sound of Cato's bloodcurdling shout that pierced my ears as fiercely as one of Clove's knives. I was reminded of the ground that began to spin, until it crashed down into some unbeknownst place. Finally, I remembered the pain of a metal rod meeting with my face, before everything went dark.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'd doubt that they'd do anything now though," I mentioned.

A low groaning sound broke into our conversation, as both Johanna and I turned to see Cato fidgeting under his sheets.

"Cato!" I screamed and ran over to the bed. Johanna wasn't far behind, as she rounded the other said, resuming her position from when I had walked in.

"Morning babe, how long have I been out?" Cato said. I had to look to Johanna for signs of what he said, before Cato noticed our confusion. He repeated himself once over until Johanna and I had caught on to what he was saying.

"Only four and a half days. No bid deal or anything," Johanna said, before giving him a flirtatious wink.

"My head feels like it's about to burst," Cato added.

"Do you want me to call someone?" I asked, but as I went to leave his bedside he rested his hand over my wrist, and shook his head slowly.

"Having you here is all I need right now," Cato included. He was beginning to regain his color now, and his voice had escalated for a murmur to an audible one. His droopy blonde hair was nothing to contend with as I pulled myself down to plant a kiss on his lips. I started to pull away before his hand came crashing down on the back of my head, which drove me back in for more.

"Oh…okay! I'll just wait outside…or maybe I'll go grab something to eat. You two look like you need a while," Johanna stammered nervously. She was out of the room in only a few short steps, as Cato and I continued to cuddle.

He allowed me to pull my face away, long enough to rest my forehead on his, and to stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. They were significantly lighter today than usual, which was most likely from the sunlight that hadn't bore into his eyes in over a week. I felt his bangs up against mine from our hairline, and I placed my hand down over his chest.

Cato reached up to tangle his fingers around in my hair. I knew I was blushing when he did so, but I couldn't help myself. We never took our eyes off of each other. Even as I pulled myself onto his bed to lie down alongside him, not once did we shift our gaze.

This moment was perfect. It was the first time that we laid together in a bed and the first time that we weren't on watch for our lives while doing so. I allowed myself to fall asleep in his arms as the rotary sound of the machines coaxed us both into a deep slumber.

For the first time in a long time, I dreamt peacefully. There were no flashbacks to the reaping, images of tributes bodies that had died in the arena, or the most common nightmare: Cato dying in the arena before my eyes. Instead I felt peace…tranquility. _I dreamt of the sweet smell of lavender and heather again, which filled my senses as Cato and I made our way to the beach. I could feel the warm sand in between my toes and the heat of the sun on our backs. I could feel a slight wind that brought with it the smell of the ocean; it was both fresh and rhythmic. It soothed itself as I breathed it in, back and forth, back and forth. I felt the distinct pressure of Cato's lips against my cheek as he tore off toward the water. We raced down together and I felt the cool sensation of the water splash against my skin. It felt like you were being enveloped in morning bed sheets: both warm and comforting. I would turn my gaze to catch a glimpse of Cato, rising from the water as it dripped off of his tanned skin. The water trickled its way down from his hair, down to his shoulders, before branching off in a variety of directions: down to his lower back or over his abdomen, where rough muscles protruded from the skin. They made their way down and down again, right over his bathing suit_, before I was startled awake.

"Good morning, Peeta. You're so peaceful when you sleep, you know that?" Cato said, as he reached his lips down to meet with my own. "Did you sleep well?" he asked. His eyes were gleaming as they searched mine for any response.

"We were on a beach, just you and I. It was amazing. Just feeling the water up against our skin," I replied happily.

"Seems like you slept rather well then. Peeta, I wanted to talk to you about—" he started, before I cut-off whatever he was about to say.

"I love you, Cato." My confession seemed to bring a huge smile to his face, and his eyes twinkled before tears started to swell up.

"I love you more," Cato replied, before crashing his lips into mine. "Does this mean we're official?" he asked, with a large grin.

"Of course! You're all mine now," I said before planting another sweet kiss onto his lips. It was a short kiss, which was unfortunately interrupted by Haymitch, who I could hear calling out across the room at us.

He seemed frantic, as he pulled Johanna into the room with him. He closed the door before locking it swiftly. "I'm sorry to break up your reunion, lovebirds. I come bearing bad news," he said seriously. I watched as he and Johanna made their way over to our side of the room. Haymitch's hands were shaking uncontrollably, and even Johanna looked unusually out of it.

Little did I know that my nightmare was only beginning:

"President Snow just made an official announcement concerning the games. Peeta…Cato…I'm so sorry. The games will resume in two weeks time. All new tributes will be joining you," Haymitch started. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I don't know how I was able to listen to what he had to say next. "Peeta…these games are going to be different. They're being used as a way to retaliate against the growing rebellion."

"I don't understand…they can't just…Why? How will they be different?" I stuttered, my mind racing.

"Because not only are you and Cato and all the others returning to the arena…but I'm going in with you…" Haymitch replied gravely. His statement was enough to take all the remaining energy out of me as my surroundings began to sway back and forth, and a blinding light hit me as I fell into unconscious.

**The End.**

**A.N. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this story! It has been a wonderful experience thus far, and I can't wait to get started on the sequel! I will be going back to University, so I will try my best to work on it as much as I can. Hope this final instalment didn't disappoint! :)**


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